Weirdest corporate tie-up of the day: Call of Duty and VICE Magazine

The next version of Call of Duty has been very subtly teased in a new YouTube video talking about the role of Private Military Corporations… made by ultra-hip Vice magazine.

So we all know the Call of Duty franchise – which in recent years has pumped out so many games you could be left wondering what they could do to get our attention. It turns out, rather than boast about nicer graphics or a player controlled dog they’ve teamed up with Vice Magazine.

Vice, which is perhaps better known for being the epitome of Shoreditch hipster culture, has really been making a broader name for itself. No longer is it just about sneering at working class people in provincial nightclubs, but they’ve built a reputation for Serious Journalism (they’re the people who sent Dennis Rodman to North Korea).

So this… sort of makes sense. Private Military Corporations are an important issue… but it just seems a bit unusual to see Call of Duty – a brand you’d usually associate with a chest-beating love for ‘Murica taking approach to an issue which seems… somewhat the antithesis of all of the tone of the series. I guess the trailer does say “A new era of Call of Duty is coming”.

Watch the video below to see what I mean.

The other takeaway from the trailer is that we can expect an announcement on details of the new game on the 4th May. They’ve even created a countdown. Let’s just see if anyone pays attention, as it is the same day more details on the new Star Wars film are due.

Update: The game has now been revealed to be CoD: Advanced Warfare… starring Kevin Spacey (!).