Azerbaijan in top video games: "Inside the Pentagon" What Call of Duty's Captain Price did in northern Azerbaijan?

All eyes were on Azerbaijan in 2020 when the country’s army responded to a years-long “call of duty” to suppress the enemy’s attacks and launch a counterattack operation, codenamed “Iron Fist” to liberate its lands. The battlefields in the country’s Karabakh and East Zangazur regions staged bloody battles attended by special forces units, SAT commandos, intelligence officers, UAV fleets and more. The 44-day operation covered numerous missions, including special forces infiltration into the city of Shusha to clear it from Armenian occupants in a hand-to-hand fight without deploying heavy equipment.

But, did you know that Azerbaijan also staged critical missions attended by legendary characters of the world’s bestselling video games? I bet you cannot wait to read about the capture of the Middle East warlord Khaled Al-Asad in the north of Azerbaijan or the “fishing” of four daredevil special forces men in the country’s capital Baku. Or a limousine with an Azerbaijani number plate taking intelligence officers and the US Secretary of Defence to meet with President John Kennedy in the Pentagon.

"Safehouse, Northern Azerbaijan"

The legendary Captain Price of the world-renowned “Call of Duty Modern Warfare” video game, also known as “Call of Duty 4”, travels in 2007 to the north of Azerbaijan to look for Khaled Al-Asad, a bloody commander of the militants in the Middle East. Intelligence data suggests Al-Asad hiding in a safehouse there (it is far too impossible in real life given Azerbaijan’s global anti-terror reputation) and guides a SAS team to infiltrate and capture the military commander. After heavy gunplay with Al-Asad’s forces, Capitan Price and his fellows find him in a barn.  Price begins to torture and interrogates him in an attempt to learn critical information about a nuclear bomb that was earlier launched in the Middle East. However, a sudden phone call changes everything and Price puts a bullet in Al-Asad’s head.

“Fishing in Baku”

Staff Sergeant Kimble, the “Irish”, Graves and three other special forces officers of the action-packed “Battlefield 4” shooter game are seen trying to escape Baku with classified intel data in 2013. “Fishing in Baku” is the first mission of the “Battlefield 4” campaign. The mission was featured in the game’s reveal trailer. It involves Tombstone Squad escaping with intel on Chinese Admiral Chang Wei's political relations with the Russians twelve days prior to the outbreak of the war. One of the shootouts in the mission takes place near the iconic Flame Towers skyscrapers trio in Azerbaijan’s capital. Gamers regard the helicopter scene taking place along the Caspian Sea in the 17-minute-long campaign mission "Fishing in Baku" as one of the most intense and exciting moments in the gamers’ community. The helicopter is seen to be downed by Sergeant Recker before it manages to destroy the car carrying the Tombstone Squad men.

"Inside the Pentagon"

The two special agents are seen arriving in the Pentagon’s courtyard for a national security briefing with President John Kennedy in the Pentagon in 2010 in the “Inside the Pentagon” mission campaign of the “Call of Duty Black Ops”, the first chapter of the blockbuster series of the legendary video game. Agents Hudson and Mason are welcomed by Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara in a limousine car where they discuss the threats coming from Russian militant leader Nikita Dragovich to the US national security. When the car takes off to head toward the Pentagon’s building, an Azerbaijani number plate – 01-AA-009 – is seen on it. Just imagine - an Azerbaijani number plate on an official US administration car in the Pentagon. Maybe the driver was also from Baku? 

Featuring Azerbaijan in the world’s top games of their kind comes due to the unique nature and cityscape in the country, as well as the hot geopolitical developments taking place in the region where it locates. In what other games Azerbaijan will be featured next, hopefully, we will see soon …