Call of Duty and Steam users have had what we could put gently as a "rocky" relationship. They've had their ups and downs (mostly downs), as the PC market just hasn't really cared about the Call of Duty series and the feeling appears to be mutual.
With any Call of Duty game, the user reviews on Steam are markedly lower than any other platform or website. Even well-received titles such as Black Ops III get the short end of the stick, in terms of user reviews. The Beta for BO3 received some of the harshest criticisms ever, even more harsh than Arkham Knight, which, just a few months earlier, debuted in a (literally) literally unplayable state.
Infinite Warfare wouldn't fare much better, currently sitting at "mixed reviews." The latest CoD title also dropped out of Steam's list of top 100 games by player-count faster than you can die on a Hardcore game mode. In fact, Black Ops III sold more than Infinite Warfare on Steam in 2016 (which, even accounting for IW's late release is unprecedented amongst other games), despite being the highest-selling game overall that year.
But, it appears Infinite Warfare and Call of Duty isn't ready to sign the divorce papers just yet, as today marks the start of a free weekend on Steam in addition to a 50% discount. For comparison, Infinite Warfare is still $60 at all other official digital retailers, including the PlayStation and Xbox Stores.
They may have more success, though, with the Legacy Edition, which is also on a discount (of 33%) that includes Modern Warfare Remastered. While the free weekend will end on Sunday, these discounts will last until Thursday, March 2.
The real question is, though, will this be enough? Activision admitted that the space-setting of Infinite Warfare didn't resonate like they wanted it to, so will a discount and a free weekend be enough to make it resonate with what is perhaps its most critical audience in Steam. The promise of a return to traditional combat in the may exacerbate the problem further, as I can only imagine playing Infinite Warfare and wishing I was playing the next installment.
We'll find out soon, as a free weekend will skyrocket the number of people who can review the game, which currently boasts a 51% positive review rate against 8,663 reviews. Depending on how that number changes, we'll know once and for all if Steam is ready to come around on Call of Duty.
