Call of Duty: WWII multiplayer trailer debuts at Sony E3 conference

It's notable that I had no idea this was supposed to be a 'multiplayer' reveal trailer when I saw it at the Sony E3 conference today. For one, it's just not CoD multiplayer without constant guitar riffs. And secondly, it wasn't exactly 'gameplay'—the camera work and editing clearly mask what the true CoD:WWII multiplayer experience looks like.

But it may also feel foreign because we see stuff I'm not used to in CoD multiplayer: Players parachuting into a map, or being dropped off by a truck. What I assume are strafing run and bomber killstreaks. Bomb planting and vehicle objectives. 

You'd think it were another game if it weren't for the rapid grenade throws and the way players snap their sights up to squeeze off a shotgun shell. That's very CoD. 

It's a good-looking trailer, and I'm skeptical, of course—CoD multiplayer is where I run in a circle and then get shot in a back, and this doesn't look quite like that. We did hear that CoD:WWII would include a new mode with a "story-based asymmetrical battle between teams with different objectives," though, and clearly we saw some of that here. Something new!

However much this trailer ultimately differs from the real experience of playing Call of Duty: WWII multiplayer, I can say that it looks cool. And that's what E3 is all about, isn't it? We'll see how this trailer's interpretation of the experience meshes with our real experience as soon as we have a chance to play it. We have a hands-on session coming up this week, which may or may not be singleplayer only.

Tyler Wilde
Executive Editor

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.