Lore: In the Dark Liberty timeline, the Call of Duty franchise remains the same, but only up until Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012). Every Call of Duty game made after Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012) in the OTL doesn't exist in this one. The premise of this post specifically replaces the OTL's Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016), which I read was one of the most hated games that year.

Call of Duty Zero (Stylized as Call of Duty 0) is a 2016 open world first-person shooter game developed by CryTek and published by Activision. It is the thirteenth installment in the Call of Duty series and was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on November 4, 2016. It is a reboot of 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

It is the first installment of the Call of Duty franchise to not use the IW engine used in previous games, but rather CryEngine instead, more specifically CryEngine 3.

It is also the first game in the franchise to be an open world game rather than a linear one.

Development on Call of Duty Zero began during 2014. It is the first title by Infinity Ward under the new three-year development cycle for the Call of Duty series.

The game's main storyline is centered around a future war between the United States and Mexico after Mexico falls to an anti-American Ultranationalist government, which is then invaded by the United States following a false flag operation executed by a Mexican warlord intending to use the US as part of a secret plot to remove the anti-American regime and replace it with a US-friendly one.

Call of Duty Zero's announcement trailer polarized the Call of Duty fanbase; while a majority of fans of the franchise praised the decision to return to the modern era, an equally large number of fans expressed disgust at what they perceived to be "glorified anti-Americanism".

Upon its release, critics of the game accused the game of glorifying racism towards Mexicans by portraying Mexico as an anti-American country.

Despite the controversy, it was named as Best Shooter at E3 by Game Informer and was nominated for several awards.

While Call of Duty Zero underperformed in sales compared to previous Call of Duty titles, it was both the top-selling game in the US and UK in November 2016.

Image credit: Battlefield wiki