'Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare' release date news update: First-person shooter most highly awaited video game, study claims

Chrisbelt Medina Friday, August 26, 2016

"Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" is slated to arrive on Nov. 4 on major consoles and PC. | CALL OF DUTY WEBSITE

Game publisher Activision Blizzard's "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" is reportedly the most highly anticipated game according to financial firm Piper Jaffray after surveying the video game preferences of over a hundred PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners. "Battlefield 1," on the other hand, catches up at number two.

The research note comes as a surprise considering how strongly hated the game was when it was first announced. The public outrage over the first-person shooter title from the "Call of Duty" franchise was reportedly caused by the game's departure from conventional battlefield scenes on the ground to battles in outer space. Developer Infinity Ward, however, calms down fans by assuring them that they won't be shooting any alien foes. Still, Earth-bound hardliners spoke out vehemently against the latest iteration of the "Call of Duty" series.

While fans are clearly divided over the game, Piper Jaffray said that 33 percent of the respondents are likely to purchase the futuristic shooter as soon as the game hits the shelves per Investor's Business Daily report. The game is closely followed by DICE's World War 1-themed first-person shooter "Battlefield 1" which is favored by 26 percent of the respondents.

Other highly anticipated games include the open-world "Ghost Recon: Wildlands" in third place with 15 percent of the votes. Tying at fourth place are "Gears of War 4" and the PlayStation 4 exclusive "The Last Guardian" with 10 percent votes each. At distant fifth comes crime-themed "Mafia 3" from Take-Two studio with six percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, Activision is in full throttle mode as it gears up for the second Call of Duty XP promotional event from Sept. 2 through Sept. 4 in Inglewood, California per High-Def Digest report. The publisher hopes to get as much attention as they can from the video game crowd. The event will offer attendees a demo of the FPS game in PlayStation VR plus a number of activities including paintball.

The game is slated for launching on Nov. 4 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.