The last few Call of Duty games haven't garnered the best response over the last few years because of the increasingly sci-fi settings. After a strong debut in early May, Call of Duty: WWII seems primed to take E3 by storm when the trade show kicks off in June.
An Intimate Setting
As mentioned, the frustration with the recent games in the series was all born of the settings. Advanced Warfare, Black Ops III, and Infinite Warfare began pushing the series into futuristic settings and storylines that started to wear thin with the fanbase. Part of what made the series popular was the exaggerated realism that previous games has used, most notably in the Modern Warfare games. There is something to be said about having a world that feels like it existed or does exist than creating a world that has to be created and thought up from scratch.
The debut trailer for Call of Duty: WWII helped establish that sort of intimate setting, especially in the single player. Even compared to the early Call of Duty games, there seems to be a level of seriousness and darkness for this game that wasn't in the early games that were also set in World War II.
This could play very well to the E3 audience who, before the game's announcement, seemed to be done with the series. Call of Duty has been a big feature in Microsoft's and Sony's press conferences since 2009, with the single-player demos taking up a good chunk of time at the shows. With the goodwill Activision and Sledgehammer Games has heading into the show, this could be the best reaction the series has had since Modern Warfare 2.
Multiplayer Dominance
Where the reveal event in May told a lot about the single player and overall tone/style of the game, there was only a short tease of what's to come for multiplayer. What was shown is the in-game server that is designed like a beachhead following D-Day.
It only makes sense the Sledgehammer would show off more of the multiplayer at E3. Despite the unpopular response to the settings, the Call of Duty games remain some of the most played multiplayer games on console. It stands to reason that a good chunk of the show floor will have stations at the Microsoft or Sony booths ready to show off the changes to multiplayer.
Call of Duty's multiplayer has been pretty set in stone for the last few years, though the devs have tried experimenting with certain facets, such as operatives in Black Ops 3 instead of just mod-able soldier classes. With all the goodwill a good single-player demo could get during the press conferences, a better show floor performance could cement the game's renewed vigor.
