Everyone knows exactly what to expect from Call of Duty’s multiplayer by now. While development studios have thrown the occasional curve ball mechanics into the mix from time to time (jump packs, verticality, lasers) the end result has largely been the same.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this type of consistency. Call of Duty’s first-person shooting mechanics are incredibly polished and feel great. But every new iteration of the franchise has left many with a feeling of over-familiarity, especially with regards to multiplayer.

Enter Call of Duty: WWII. Sledgehammer Games is making some big changes to multiplayer. And it’s not just because of the new (old) setting. There are three big changes that could radically alter Call of Duty’s multiplayer. Enough, maybe, to bring those of us who left it behind a long time ago back into the fold.

It starts when you open the game up. Headquarters will see players put into hubs with 47 other players pre-game:

“This is D-Day plus three. Three days after the Allies took Normandy Beach you and forty seven of your friends […] start and end the night. You compete, you socialise, you peacock and show off. It’s a really great place for the community to come together and we think it’s going to transform how players engage with the game.”

Divisions aims to change the way player progression works through a completely re-imagined create-a-class system. The idea being that different divisions from World War II had vastly different experiences and training. By selecting a division players will be able to reinforce their individual play styles through specific skills and weapons.

Lastly, War Mode introduces narrative-driven multiplayer to the Call of Duty experience. Players will work together to battle on maps custom-built for this new mode, fighting in asymmetrical combat as they attempt to work together to assault and defend key strategic objectives:

“We really wanted to bring to life this concept of real teamwork. World War II was about that, it was about your squad. And so war is that experience. It’s funnelling true Axis and Allied collision of forces into very strategic [battles].”

This combines with a potentially great single-player campaign with an eye for historical detail and the usual suite of multiplayer options. This might be a very special Call of Duty game indeed.

Call of Duty: WWII launches on November 3, 2017 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.