The past couple of days have been very interesting for fans of Call Of Duty: Warzone, as we have just received news of two new iconic action heroes joining the firefight.
There’s been a bit of a time warp on the Battle Royale island of Verdansk recently, with Warzone’s latest event turning the clock back to 1984 following a nuclear blast. After the first year and a half of trips to the gulag, 1984 has seen a huge overhaul to the map, with some new structures being added, and some minor obstacles being removed to streamline the skirmish.
And alongside this new map, Activision has also decided to lean into the new time period with a couple of new operators.
Paying homage to the action hero greats of the ’80s, you’ll soon be able to play as Sly Stallone’s John Rambo and Bruce Willis’ John McClane in Call of Duty: Warzone.
Rambo’s reveal came in the form of a pretty straight-up gameplay trailer, featuring the bow, slogan, and font associated with the legendary Vietnam vet. McClane’s came alongside a more subtle nod to the iconic air duct scene from the 1988 epic.
Become war.
5.20.21. pic.twitter.com/omIRogihm2— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) May 10, 2021
In a game whose current player base is predominately adolescent males, the addition of two vestigial tough-guy archetypes may be seen as a cool addition to some, but could definitely be seen as a tongue-in-cheek way of solidifying and catering to their male-dominated key demographic.
As far as games go, Warzone is definitely among the most boyish, and the addition of two icons of an ancient male power fantasy might not only be a bit on the nose, but could also be shedding light on the audience that Activision are really catering to with their flagship title.
https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1391075433412763650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1391075433412763650%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2021-05-08-die-hards-john-mcclane-teased-for-call-of-duty-warzone
Maybe they’ve shown their hand with this reveal, or maybe they’re just having fun in this new time period – but if that’s the case, it couldn’t hurt to see some of the less macho-man icons join the Johns.
Sarah Connor, we’re looking at you.
