Call of Duty: WWII

Call of Duty: WWII is a first-person shooter video game developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. It was released worldwide on November 3, 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is the fourteenth main installment in the Call of Duty series and the first title in the series to be set primarily during World War II since Call of Duty: World at War in 2008.

The game's campaign is set in the European theatre, and is centered around a squad in the 1st Infantry Division, following their battles on the Western Front, and set mainly in the historical events of Operation Overlord. The player controls Ronald "Red" Daniels, who has squadmates that can supply the player with extra ammunition, health, or grenades; none of these are automatically replenished in the campaign. The multiplayer mode features map locations not seen in the campaign. The mode also features the new Divisions system, replacing the create-a-class system that previous games in the series used. A social hub, Headquarters, was also implemented into the game, allowing for players to interact with each other.

Sledgehammer Games were interested in bringing the series back to World War II after developing their previous title, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014), which featured advanced movements and futuristic warfare technology. Studio head Michael Condrey stated that he was unsure if a World War II game would feel right after creating a futuristic title like Advanced Warfare, but the developers ultimately decided to create a game in this time period. They also chose to include "atrocities" and Nazi extermination camps apparent during this time period in the campaign mode in order to deliver an authentic war story.

Upon release, the game received generally positive reviews from critics, with many appreciating the return to the franchise's World War II roots. Praise was given towards its story, the combat support of squad members and return of the health bar in single-player, visuals, Zombies mode, and multiplayer. However, it was criticized for the single-player's lack of innovation and similarity to past games set in the same era. The game was a commercial success, creating $500 million of revenue within just three days of it release. It became the highest-grossing console game of 2017 in North America, generating over $1 billion of revenue by the end of the year.

Gameplay

Similar to its predecessors, Call of Duty: WWII is a first-person shooter game. It removes the advanced system of movement present in the two previous Call of Duty titles, which included double jumping and wall running. Instead, it features a return of traditional movement to the series, taking it back to a "boots on the ground gameplay style. The game features an unlimited sprint mechanic, seen in the previous two titles.Instead of a "slide" movement mechanic, which allowed players to slide quickly on the ground, WWII features a "hit-the-deck" mechanic that allows the player to leap forward and throw themselves on the ground in order to get to cover quickly, similarly to a previous mechanic known as "dolphin dive" in Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Campaign

WWII is the first title since the original game and Call of Duty 2: Big Red One not to feature health regeneration in the campaign. Instead, players must find health packs scattered throughout levels, or rely on their medic squadmate to provide health packs. Other members of the player's squad can provide ammunition, grenades, call in mortar strikes, or spot enemies and reveal their position in form of silhouettes. In certain sections of the game, enemy soldiers in the campaign can be captured, and wounded allies can be dragged to cover. In some parts of the campaign, players are able to control vehicles.

Sales

The game earned over $500 million within its first three days of release.On December 20, 2017, it was confirmed that the game had generated over $1 billion in revenue, making it the highest-grossing console game of the year in North America.As of January 1, 2018, Call of Duty: WWII reached 20.7 million players over all platforms, 12.1 million players on PlayStation 4, 7.8 million players on Xbox One, and 825,000 players on Steam.The PlayStation 4 version sold 168,234 copies within its first week on sale in Japan, making it the best-selling game of the week.