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Popular gaming franchise Call of Duty has rebranded in collaboration with design studio Koto.
Call of Duty is a franchise that has gained so much popularity that it can be considered a symbol of PC gun shooting games since its first game was released in 2003. Activision has become a global entertainment company, selling more than 425 million titles worldwide, with titles such as Modern Warfare and Black Ops continuing to enjoy success.
Activision has decided to consistently unify the Call of Duty franchise, which has produced 23 titles over 20 years. We worked with Koto for two years to design a visual identity that would showcase the individual series' identities while maintaining Call of Duty's cohesion.
The first noticeable change is the wordmark. The structure of emphasizing CALL and DUTY and having a small OF in the middle was maintained. The round character of the existing font disappeared and was replaced with a sharp, angular shape. The outline of the font consists of 90-degree right angles and 45-degree diagonals. The impression of a military with strict rules was further strengthened.
In collaboration with font foundry NaN, we created Hitmaker, a variable typeface that can be applied in a variety of situations. This is a font that can be used anywhere Call of Duty is exposed, including game UI, IP titles, and brand communication thumbnails. It can be increased or decreased horizontally and vertically and can be used in various thicknesses. Supports over 300 languages worldwide.
Overall, the use of bold capital letters gives a powerful and solid impression. Since curves are minimized and the interior space is expressed in the shape of the outline, it becomes difficult to identify, so the interior space is expressed as a rectangle. Detailed use of ink traps to make it easy to identify tight, rectangular capital letters also improves readability. Because we use a lot of capital letters, we use a hatch to separate the letter O from the number 0.
When designing a brand identity, it is difficult to set the limits of what changes and what does not change, but this is a rebrand that organizes the subtle limits well. The experience of being a soldier and carrying out operations is a visual identity that is well woven into the brand and the game as a whole.
Games can have similar visual impressions unless the materials and backgrounds are completely different, so it seems appropriate to design the typography exposed outside of the game and the UI used within the game to be memorable visual elements. In particular, the gun shooting genre set in modern times seems to be a valid strategy because there are many games that give a similar impression.
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