The first trailer for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare made its debut on YouTube earlier this week. As of writing, it has more than nine million views and well over twice as many thumbs-down (dislikes) as thumbs-up.

The Call of Duty franchise has evolved over the years, its subject matter ranging from the World War II era through modern-day combat and lately, futuristic warfare. It's the continued path into the realm of sci-fi that many YouTube commenters are apparently taking issue with, some going so far as to compare the game to other futuristic franchises like Halo.

During a recent earnings call, Activision boss Eric Hirshberg was asked about fans' negative reaction to the Infinite Warfare trailer. Predictably, he put a pretty solid spin on the matter.

The executive highlighted the collective passion of gamers and said they love the fact that fans have such strong points of view about it. He said they know there are people in the community who are nostalgic for the boots-on-the-ground style of gameplay which is why they're bundling Modern Warfare Remastered with the new game.

Conversely, Hirshberg said there are millions of people that want to have new, innovative experiences in the game each year. Infinite Warfare will certainly deliver that experience, he said.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is one of the most beloved games in the franchise. The decision to remaster it was no doubt welcomed by millions of fans but the fact that it's bundled with Infinite Warfare and won't be sold separately is yet another sore spot. It's a great business move to artificially drive sales of Infinite Warfare but it's not really doing Activision any favors in the eyes of many.