Has this Twitter account been teasing Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare since August?

UPDATE: Call of Duty news site Charlie Intel claims that both Twitter accounts are fan made and not official teasers. It has since been revealed, however, that Activision has trademarked Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, all but confirming the name of this year’s game.

It remains unclear if the Infinite Warfare universe will be tied to Modern Warfare.

ORIGINAL STORY: Activision has started teasing Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare ahead of its expected announcement next week – and may have been doing so since August 2015.

Last night, images of t-shirts featuring the slogan ‘IW7’ and the text ‘Do your part enlist’ were posted online by various athletes teasing “COD2016”, along with an update to Black Ops 3 hinting at this year’s game.

But this is where it gets even more interesting. I’ve found two Twitter accounts that also appear to be linked to the game, including one that began tweeting almost one year ago.

CAUTION: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 spoilers from here on.

@OpFor_EN posted its first tweet last August with the words: “…This, is how it begins…”. That’s a quote from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare villain Khaled Al-Asad, spoken just before the player’s character is killed during the opening mission. Then, in September, it followed it up with another tweet featuring an image of a speech from Al Asad, again from Call of Duty 4:

It’s tweeted various other stuff since, including a tweet featuring a quote from Modern Warfare 2 character James Ramirez, now retired, referencing MW2 baddy Lieutenant General Shepherd:

But it started tweeting in force last night, first with messages from ‘Alran Masoukan’, an individual that references IW7 and Imran Zakhaev, the main antagonist from Call of Duty 4, and then with a statement from Opposing Force explaining Masoukan’s story, asking users to “regard his statements as false and scandalous”.

OpFor was, of course, a major antagonist faction in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Its Twitter account describes itself as an “organization started in the late 2000s that is now one of the largest defense and economic alliances to ever exist. We Rise Again!”

Interestingly, the account follows just 12 other Twitter accounts: Infinity Ward, Activision, Call of Duty, Call of Duty eSports, Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software, High Moon Studios, PlayStation, Beenox, Call of Duty Endow., Beachhead Studios and something called ‘Infinity Initiative’.

Infinity Initiative, too, appears to be a teaser account for Infinite Warfare. Again, it references ‘IW7’, which appears to stand for “Infinity Wave 7”, and the ‘Imran Zakhaev Launchport’, which could be a hub for space flight. “We are now public!” it tweeted last night. “Richardson Aerospace, our partners, and those involved with the Infinity Initiative is excited for #WaveSeven to depart.

“Departing from I. Zakhaev Launchport, Infinity Wave Seven will be the first Infinity voyage to allow passengers to pass the Kenmarck Zone. The Kenmarck is considered by many to be the edge of our ‘Final Frontier’ but #WaveSeven sets to defy and pre-existing notions…”

Interestingly, if the accounts are legit, the various references to the Modern Warfare series could indicate that Infinite Warfare may be set within the same universe. Modern Warfare 2’s infamous ‘No Russian’ level took place within Zakhaev International Airport, too, which could be a predecessor to Imran Zakhaev Launchport.

This year’s Call of Duty will also be Infinity Ward’s seventh game, which IW7 may also be a reference to.

And if Infinite Warfare really is set within the same universe as Modern Warfare, the rumoured Modern Warfare Remastered starts to make a lot more sense – as does the rumoured Legacy Edition. Expect to hear much more about this year’s Call of Duty early next week.

Source: @OpFor_EN, @InfinityINIT