Few aspects of the Call of Duty franchise have remained the same since the modern multiplayer experience was established with Call of Duty 4. Gold camo became less special with the introduction of higher tier Mastery camos, the old Prestige system has been retired in favor of seasonal levels, and create-a-class has evolved to include everything from a Pick 10 approach to the Gunsmith. Though the mini-map remained the same for many games, it has been shifting between a new and old style in recent years.
These shifts have been deemed unnecessary by most of the Call of Duty community, but developer Infinity Ward has been unwilling to budge on the new mini-map style it has introduced in its rebooted Modern Warfare subseries. According to the developer, the changes encourage players to fire their weapons more often without being forced to have a suppressor, but discussion about the topic remains heated. However, the biggest issue is not the mini-map change itself, but the whiplash that occurs when other developers do not follow suit.
Call of Duty’s Developers Need To Agree on a Single Mini-Map Approach
The new mini-map was introduced through Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019’s multiplayer, and the response was overwhelmingly negative. This led to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War making it very clear that the old mini-map style - where red dots appear when unsuppressed guns are fired - was returning. Treyarch even treated this return as something to be exciting about, touting its comeback in the lead-up to the game's beta. Unsurprisingly, fans responded well to its return.
For whatever reason, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer brings back the unpopular system from the 2019 game. This is an odd choice, especially because various content creators have claimed that the early testing sessions for the game had an old school mini map, which they adored. Despite this positive feedback, Infinity Ward said that the classic style for the mini-map was a bug and would not be in the full game, and that turned out to be the case.
For better or worse, Infinity Ward seems determined to make its new mini-map style stick, as it returned to it even after two other Call of Duty games had gone back to the old style. Unfortunately, this has only left the community more confused and frustrated, as they are being pulled in different directions with the various entries in the series. While one developer is proudly stating that they are using the old mini-map, another clearly does not want to cave to community feedback.
Ultimately, this is where the issue lies, as players who like the old style had it given back to them only for it to be taken away once again. On the flip side, if the new mini-map is ever going to be the norm and something that gamers successfully adjust to, it cannot only be seen in Infinity Ward games every few years. To really make the Modern Warfare 2 mini-map something that the Call of Duty community starts to accept, Treyarch and Sledgehammer would also have to implement it in their games as well.
Whether Infinity Ward caves and restores the old mini-map style that the other Call of Duty games have been using, or Treyarch and Sledgehammer shift to add the dot-free map, something has to change. Some form of consistency as needed, as outrage is guaranteed to happen when features are taken away, given back, and then removed once again. Though it is good for every Call of Duty developer to have its own identity, the mini map is something that should function the same across every game. Hopefully, the Call of Duty series will choose a single path soon and stick with it.