Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – 'we're going for a classic feel'

With Battlefield currently winning the propaganda war CoD developer, Infinity Ward, wants to convince gamers that its latest title isn't just about space

In 2015, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson gave an interview in which he argued that the world's first trillionaire will be somebody who successfully mines asteroids. These celestial rocks are loaded with the sort of rare metals essential for the manufacturing of computers and smartphones - metals that are becoming increasingly scarce on Earth. There are already companies such as Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries developing technologies to facilitate the industry. It's going to happen.

And its this prospect that provides the background to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, 2016's instalment in the long-running shooter series. It's the near future and humankind has expanded out into space, operating mining colonies throughout the solar system. To keep these in check, a new agency, UNSA, has been formed, uniting the armed forces of all the major countries involved. However, a fanatical organisation known as the Settlement Defence Front (SetDef) has formed out in space, looking to place a stranglehold on resources by taking over outposts throughout the system. "Wherever there is war over resources," says Call of Duty design director, Jacob Minkoff, "there is extremism".