Box art, reportedly of the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 game, was passed on via the Twitter account of Robert Bowling, community manager at the game's developer Infinity Ward. The message said, "Just recieved the first Modern Warfare 2 boxes straight off the press. "S*** just got real." However, the image that goes with it has some notable items missing, among them that there's no Activision logo and no ESRB rating. However, the "RP" (rating pending) box art on the Amazon and EBGames websites also lacks an Activision logo (though it also has "Box Art Not Final" at the bottom).
What's perhaps most interesting is the return of "Call of Duty" to the product's name. Though the game is a sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the recent press releases, videos and logo art for the game have been simply a stripped-down "Modern Warfare 2." There has been some speculation that Activision and Infinity Ward leaving "Call of Duty" out of the name will actually hinder the game's sales, so perhaps the companies have subtly brought it back to reconnect it with its parent franchise. Activision has responded to the speculation with the below message (after the box art image):
"Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 is the direct sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare," a spokesperson told Kotaku. "We have focused our attention on Modern Warfare in order to most effectively communicate the fact that this is the first true sequel in the Call of Duty series. Infinity Ward, the original creators of the Call of Duty franchise, has said from the beginning Modern Warfare 2 resides in the Call of Duty universe. This is reflected in the title's package."
