Activision’s Call of Duty is being adapted into a board game, and a Kickstarter campaign is coming this year.
As first reported by Variety, Call of Duty is being adapted into a board game courtesy of Arcane Wonders, the company behind the likes of famous board games like Sheriff of Nottingham and Onitama. The game will reportedly be set within the Modern Warfare series, and it will feature famous maps and weapons from the video games.
Designer Bryan Pope spoke to Polygon about the upcoming game and said, “[Players] simultaneously plan out [their] moves secretly and then resolve those at the same time out on the map. Line of sight is easily determined by colored lines on the map, and when you do have eyes on your opponent, combat happens. It’s all about outsmarting and outmaneuvering your opponent to get in the best possible position to win in a fight.”
Of course, it still remains to be seen exactly how Call of Duty will play out as a board game. An interesting note, though, is that the game is going to be funded via a Kickstarter campaign that’s launching later this year. While the developers of the game have the Call of Duty license courtesy of Activision, the publisher seems to be leaving this project in the hands of its developers and not providing much in the way of financial support.
Another interesting note relates to what’s coming after the release of the board game. Outside of simply the game itself, Arcane is reportedly trying to turn the board game into something akin to a live service, much like the Call of Duty video games are, and has plans to release a slew of additional content for the game. This is reportedly set to include new operators (miniatures), weapons, maps, and modes (including Zombies as well as co-op).
Naturally, it’s going to be a challenge to translate what made Call of Duty a gaming legend into a board game, but if there’s a company to do it, a company like Arcane that already has experience creating board games feels like a good fit. Currently, though, the game is slated for a 2024 release window, so we’ll all have to wait to see how it turns out.
