Atlas Corporation | Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

On the battlefields of the near future, the greatest superpower was not any nation, but rather a corporation. Through the machinations of its CEO, Jonathan Irons, the Atlas Corporation redefined the nature of war and upended the geopolitical order.
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Background music: "Final Alliance" by Tenacious Orchestra used under license by PremiumBeat.com.
Ending music "Battle Forever" used under license from Shutterstock.com.

[@TemplinInstitute]

Help the Templin Institute become a corrupt megacorporation by supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/templininstitute

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

The Templin Institute: "Megacorporations with their own military and colonys is unrealistic! History itself: "The East India Trading Company"

[@theboard7512]

Dear Templin Institute Researchers, for about two years i live farely isolated in a remote part of my country, waiting for the day to return home. For this period in time, your Videos were a huge entertaining and informative aspect. Thanks for that. I have a request: Could you produce a video about the OROKIN EMPIRE from Warframe? There is a rich history yet to be explored. I would be delighted. Best regards.

[@ronniehopper2726]

You should do underworld next

[@ultrajd]

Could you guys do possibly a video on the clandestine United Nations organization NERV from the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion?

[@HowBoutUHandleDeezNutz]

Gotu fam

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

"Unlike the government, we don't keep secrets of our capabilities. We don't sell policy, we sell power. We are super power for hire" -- JONATHAN IRONS IN ATLAS

[@arkhamknight9001]

"We do what few years in what takes government decades to accomplish. In fact the truth is... we are often more affective than the government who hired us." True to his words. Irons was the first to act and despite his bad motives later on. You can't forget his accomplishments such as: rebuilding the middle east, aiding the people and giving them home and protection, and lastly the only man to ever stop Hades.

[@onekill31]

Specifically when he is talking to Mitchell

[@timur162007]

That guy should rule the earth

[@StudMacher96]

That would be kinda cool

[@christopherthrawn1333]

Well said Sir

[@Paul-A01]

Going to literal war with your customers doesn't sound like a very smart business plan.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

It was the only way for Kevin Spacey's true life remain under wraps: Put the torch to the rest of the world. Burn it all, lest they know.

[@rosesareredbutzerglingssti9290]

Corporations only serve themselves. Their "clients" are only important if they can pay them -- otherwise, they will became prey too.

[@cesarespinozaspain]

Tell that to Games Workshop!!

[@dianabarnett6886]

Profit was no longer the goal. Atlas was going from corporation to empire. Customers to citizens/subjects.

[@olegdemianenko3054]

The quote from Lord of War: "Never go to war, especially with yourself."

[@nexuseagles6279]

I actually love Atlas as a faction and story-wise, wish we got advanced warfare 2.

[@nicktechnubyte1184]

Instead we got infinite warfare, where apparently you need to use silencers in space! Also, you only need a face respiratory mask to walk on mars!

[@miliba]

The story and Spacy's character were brilliant but the multiplayer sucked with those exosuits. I guess adding the 3rd dimension to shooter combat didnt fit well with the CoD community

[@leswause8937]

@@nicktechnubyte1184 Infinite Warfare's multiplayer was meh, but regardless of space silencers (lol) and other minor inconsistencies, I actually consider the campaign to be one of the best of all CODs. Kinda sucks we won't ever see more of it because Activision's awful monetization practices doomed it from the start.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

Technically, Infinite Warfare was a soft sequel to Advanced Warfare. I think they were gonna make a bigger story-based sequel to Advanced Warfare, but the first one bombed because CoD players hate even slight deviations. Advanced Warfare literally ends with the Atlas Corporation with still a lot of military assets and the main character saying "This isnt over, this is just the beginning"

[@nexuseagles6279]

@@nicktechnubyte1184 I actually only got Infinite war for the COD4 remake and never played or off it out of the case. I thought it was stupid from the start and traded it in soon I saw the cod 4 remake got a physical copy. So I don't much about it.

[@daverage4729]

“Ideas don’t determine who is right, power determines who is right and I have the power...so I’m right” - Jonathon Irons

[@Toven_WaveWatcherFi]

He's so based

[@WallNutBreaker524]

I see no error in his logic 💪😎👍

[@bodhitree33]

Draco Reptilian: "Might is right".

[@jehoiakimelidoronila5450]

To paraphrase from star wars, *"atlas was right"*

[@marxel4444]

To quote Rimuru from That time i got reincarnated as a slime “Ideals without power to back them up are just idle daydreams and power without ideals is just empty" Or "That´s the purpose of my power. Power without ideals is rubbish and ideals without power are pointless, dont you think?"

[@Barbaroossa]

Troy Baker in an interview told us of the original ending for the Advanced Warfare, it was much better than the one we got. In the original ending Irons takes control of Mitchell's exoskeleton and forces Mitchell to shoot him, before he forces Mitchell to pull the trigger, Irons looks at him and said (I paraphrase it here): "I know what I have to do, Michell. Do you?"

[@airshipkirov3707]

Damn that sounds awesome,WAY better than ending we got

[@Joshua_N-A]

Should've keep it and I would've play it! Irons should've be written as the broken person who try to fix a broken world and shouldering the burden to deal with the world's ills through Atlas, fitting for its name.

[@lehuy7306]

Wait so Irons force Mitchell to shoot who? Himself or Mitchell?

[@Barbaroossa]

@@lehuy7306 Irons forces Mitchell to shoot him (Irons).

[@Lajos_Kelemen]

I just wanted a lot more moral grey in it, instead of the usual black and white stuff The whole Atlas thing would've been perfect for it, a PMC that it's kind of it's own nation, it's like Outer Haven on steroids.

[@lucks4fools978]

Say what you will with the call of duty franchise. At least they gave us this game, which I found to be very fun story wise and gameplay wise.

[@fireteamdelta9108]

The story is unique but it’s somewhat handholding and tedious with the cutscenes also the main villain is played by Kevin spacey it’s pretty obvious who’s the bad guy here

[@lucks4fools978]

@@fireteamdelta9108 Yes the moment I saw him I knew he would be a villain. Still it was the execution of the story that really impressed upon me.

[@anarchyandempires5452]

@@lucks4fools978 you know all this years later, nowadays I can't help but seriously reconsider whether or not he was actually a villain, Back when the game came out I thought he was just another random villain out for world domination, but recently I played it again, And while throughout most of the game I still though the same thing, everything's changed when we got to the mission where you invade new Baghdad. It was at that moment when everything clicked and I realized that the world is absolutely fucked, like yeah I know Atlas went on an explodi quest a la makarov, and just wrecked a good chunk of the US, but I don't just mean the US I mean the rest of the world is absolutely screwed, remember that throughout a few missions you get to fight alongside Atlas, and during those missions you can clearly see that the world is basically in ruins, or is absolutely in the brink. The perfect example of this is actually the very first mission in the game. the second Korean War should have never been such a meat grinder, I know you could argue that they did this to just create the main plot of the beginning of the game, but call of duty games are very Tom Clancyish when it comes to their stories, they always more or less represent the power of different nations in a realistic way. For example evening call of duty ghosts when the United States is at it's definite lowest point, and it has lost like 90% of its assets it's still so powerful that the federation cannot invade, and it's still more advanced than the federation in just about every regard. On the other hand in advanced warfare Korea is somehow able to absolutely destroy the US expeditionary Force, and even has many weapons that are superior to those of the US. This shows that the proliferation of advanced armaments is simply incredible. On the other hand even though the technology exists to create advanced artificial limbs, the US is in such a poor financial position that it is unable to procure them even for an extremely decorated soldier with years of battle experience. Throughout the game we see that poverty is rampant, violence goes uncontrolled, and that the environmental situation across the globe is no longer tenable. On the other hand we have new Baghdad, and it's literally perfect, there's no poverty, no crime, and the city is flourishing. And if we see the difference between the US military and the the atlas military in the game, it's even more shocking, Atlas treats its soldiers like heroes and spares no expense in caring for them should they get injured or in equipping them for the task at hand, it doesn't send them into meat grinders with subpar equipment. Not just that but the entire main conflict of the game was just headless trying to find recognition on a similar level to what it was a superpower, as well as to produce a weapon that could form a deterrent against aggression from other nations. Like was the genetic targeting weapon that they produce really all that much worse than a freaking nuke of which every major power has a few hundred? They didn't want world domination, they didn't want to exterminate any other nations, no all they wanted was the recognition they needed to participate in the world stage as more than just an army for hire, and to have the weapons necessary to provide a deterrent so they could protect their people. Like yeah their tactics and decisions were rather arguable, but when we consider the fact that the entire goddamn world United against them the moment they discovered that indeed Atlas could defend itself with it's only WMD, their decisions kind of start making a lot more sense. I don't know if maybe it's because the story kind of reminds me of 01 from The matrix, which always resonated with me as a Texan, but the older I get the more I think atlas kind of got a raw deal in the game, I really don't feel they deserved to get wiped out like they did, punitive action, tariffs, other political punishments sure, but a God damn world war? Really just because they developed a weapon that was nowhere near as effective as a nuke? Like sure they did a lot of underhanded crap and caused major damage to several US cities, so I can understand why the US would not be best pleased with them, and I could even see a kinetic War starting because of this, but a world War over something as minor as a new kind of wmd? Nah I've always felt that was more of a vailed excuse.

[@skitt5396]

It gave us an amazing meme too

[@lucks4fools978]

@@skitt5396 F

[@awesomehpt8938]

Kevin spacey really branched out from his acting career.

[@-JA-]

@Viktor-Mandus Rhaefnhyrst He can't resist those creamy hamstrings.

[@Marylandbrony]

He was a great mentor to Jared from subway.

[@agentandrewmiltonpinkerton9818]

@@-JA- there isnt even proof

[@RATsnak3]

@@agentandrewmiltonpinkerton9818 No proof except his apology video...

[@michaelramon2411]

I was a little disappointed that the writers went the "corporate army functions like a superpower" thing, because the way ATLAS was depicted in the game's early levels (as elite special forces for rent by countries that can't afford such technology and training) made a lot of sense in CoD world, where a squad of protagonists can tear through whole divisions of conventionally-equipped soldiers. I feel like that would have made a lot more worldbuilding sense.

[@desertdude8274]

It felt fun playing as a sqaud for rent. I was dissapointed when they made them the bad guy of the game.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

@@desertdude8274 because PMC's have never done anything immoral, at least you cant prove it! :>

[@desertdude8274]

@@jakespacepiratee3740 That wasn't my point. I just liked playing as a sqaud for rent.

[@mondaysinsanity8193]

@@jakespacepiratee3740 yeah but becoming a power yourself is far less profitable then just being for rent

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

@@mondaysinsanity8193 I never said I liked their ultimate goal.

[@pastedvirus]

_I have successfully privatized world peace._ _-Jonathan Irons_

[@justinjacob9743]

Nice Tony Stark reference.

[@TR3Bblackmanta]

@@justinjacob9743 this was Jonathan Irons not Tony Stark

[@justinjacob9743]

@@TR3Bblackmanta no, it was Tony stark, iron man 2. First 10 mins of the movie.

[@TR3Bblackmanta]

@@justinjacob9743 ok

[@TR3Bblackmanta]

@@justinjacob9743 but in this moment he means Jonathan Irons

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

The sad thing is that I actually found the idea of the Atlas Corporation really cool, I just had problems with Kevin Spacey's long-term goal, but the idea of them causing massive world events to seize the power vacuum left there was a cool idea. The problem I had was when they tried to comitt the ultimate act of hating their customers, and wiping out the world.

[@skepticalmagos_101]

Yeah......

[@dhv2852]

Yeah, they broke the number one rule of capitalism: client is king

[@Monarch_Prime]

Atlas was pretty devious i'd say but long term... they were sucky

[@lavellelee5734]

What if there was a story where a megacorp was the hero? What if a man such as irons made atlas to go against the corrupt world powers that be, who are in a constant dick measuring contest, making a humans, into one man armies, weapons. Then you play as both sides, two best friends who don't know why the other is fighting for their side, the son of irons fighting for the powers that be, both for the perceived perception of them being the good guys, and the fact that he hated the idea of living in his father's shadow working for him, and the other a much younger but wiser brother who sees the world for what it is

[@Monarch_Prime]

@@lavellelee5734 megacorps serve capitalism and the interests of their owners and shareholders... Generosity or benevolence isn't profitable unless it breeds dependency.

[@cisco3111]

I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon decided to go down this route one day, a lot can change in 50 years...

[@Marylandbrony]

Nah, Amazon is going to become Buy and Large. Also they should do an episode based on Wall-e.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

@@Marylandbrony Elon Musk's Company will become the corporation from The Outer Worlds, while Amazon will become Buy'n Large.

[@Monarch_Prime]

Tesla and SpaceX are probably set to become something akin to Protogen or Weyland-Yutani. Amazon is set to become something like BnL, Google, Microsoft, will probably just become Tyrell Corp.

[@Monarch_Prime]

@@jakespacepiratee3740 or Protogen from the Expanse. Wouldn't be surprised if Elon's kids decide to "commission" secret warships to do their own thing...

[@Marylandbrony]

@@Monarch_Prime The bigger question is who becomes Doofenshmirtz evil Incorporated?

[@bubbasbigblast8563]

*Grunt 1:* "Area sec-wait." *Grunt 2:* "Wha-" *Grunt 1:* "Shh. Listen." _M-i-c_ *Grunt 1:* "..oh no." _k-e-y_ *Grunt 2:* "RUN!" _M-o-u-s-e!_ *Both Grunts begin to run, pursued by Drones with Mouse Ears firing machine guns.*

[@giovannicervantes2053]

The future of Disney work for us or we'll send the Drone

[@seand.g423]

@@giovannicervantes2053 well, definitely the _oldest_ fucking option... 😒

[@ramblinnernd5905]

Dude take my like.

[@hydronpowers9014]

_So this is what happens when Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing fused together_

[@hellothere1656]

Might as well add Apple, Microsoft, Saudi Aramco and Amazon into the mix.

[@cooperdunn2766]

Nah, get Blackwater and fuse it with Boeing, General Electric, and Lockheed Martin. You would be able to get the scale and funding of Atlas in Modern world terms.

[@robertmclease]

@@cooperdunn2766 and amazon is the parent company

[@criticalalfredo707]

more like when Constellis (now parent company of Academi who formerly Blackwater) merged with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE System, Raytheon, Pinkerton, and G4S

[@seand.g423]

Yup... we fucking need a Faro Automated Solutions but _baaaaaaaaad..._

[@Kubinda12345]

Storywise a corporation that first develops advanced technology and then works at first as a supplier of the technology and then provides high tech merceneries for hire is a really cool idea. Using the terrorists in trying to get even more power is also a really good idea. Making Atlas part of the UN is also good. But I really didn't like that Atlas openly decided to take over the world. Personally I doubt that a corporation which uses mainly its wealth to gain influence and power would be able to gain such loyalty that so many people would betray their own countries. If Atlas de facto took over the world over the course of decades if not centuries - in reality ruling but letting the old governments officially function - it would've been much more realistic. PS: Naming a corporation Atlas must be quite popular since there's at least one other - in Borderlands games - that I know of. But I guess there are much worse things one can get inspired by then a guy carrying heavens upon his shoulders.

[@aoki6332]

yeah all the corporation taking over country be force is unrealistic yeah today some company have massive influence over some country but they cant go against superpower in war time money have way less importance than manpower but yeah making the corporation fuse itself whit the government is way more realistic and something that we can actually see happening Like in Homefront 2 the company entirely merged whit Korea and then attacked the US after they failed to paid back what they own

[@explosivemodesonicmauricet1597]

More like Vassalising.

[@spacewargamer4181]

Did not Atlas do that until the MCs escaped and told the truth to Sentinel?

[@seasons1745]

@@spacewargamer4181 he revealed he made Manticore at a UN meeting but I don’t remember what part that takes place in at the storyline

[@Re-2005]

Yeah the ending story sucks but the concept was cool hell the first to mod half of the game was awesome

[@KingZolem]

You know what I appreciate? They killed the evil leader....and the organization continued. Because killing the boss doesn't magically end the conflict that the enemy is winning. It just puts the next in line in charge of the war.

[@duncanharrell5009]

Would be cool to see internal factions from the Board of Firectors and various heads of Atlas’s departments from Security to R&D to Hr, etc. jockeying for the next CEO

[@CarlitoAnimacoesStudios]

After he was killed the situation became even more chaotic

[@ISAF_Ace]

I really want a COD game where we play as the villain Atlas style

[@ciaranbrk]

I want one where you aren’t some version of the US.

[@seand.g423]

@@ciaranbrk FUCKING SAME-UH!!!

[@SamaritanPrime]

Imagine playing as Makarov in a Modern Warfare reboot.

[@louievelayo4100]

"People don't need freedom. They want rules, boundaries, protections from invaders and from themselves." - Jonathan Irons The man has a point, ya know...

[@scottishbananaclan]

Kinda gay

[@logger22]

One of Atlas’ biggest compounds is in Baghdad, Iraq. Gideon says “10 years ago, you couldn’t walk outside without being shot.” Meaning The War on Terror ended in a decade from Atlas than in half a century from the U.S. and Coalition occupation (the game’s current setting is in 2061). This shows how Atlas, being a private company, can focus 100% on their targets and priorities, going as far as to commit drastic measures, collateral damage, acceptable losses, and even war crimes, to achieve their objective. They do not have to worry about public opinion, sanctions, and restrictions from foreign policies.

[@IronVigilance]

That Atlas Creed in the beginning sounds so much like a modified US Army Infantryman's Creed.

[@mondaysinsanity8193]

Not really tbh its somehow even more dumb then the us soldiers creed

[@ironstarofmordian7098]

Not even slightly.

[@dirckthedork-knight1201]

@@mondaysinsanity8193 How is the US rifleman creed "dumb"?

[@mondaysinsanity8193]

@@dirckthedork-knight1201 have you had to say it every day? Because i have Its dumb asf

[@icarus387]

According to the cod wikia, irons served in the US army prior to founding atlas in 2035.

[@JacobLang240]

Year 2035: Amazon officially changes name to Atlas Corporation

[@AccipiterSmith]

aw crap.

[@jimmyseaver3647]

For real, though, Irons nailed the failures of the War on Terror.

[@sahilhossian2449]

Yep

[@williamhumes7332]

When Call of Duty, a franchise infamous for it's fanbase, creates a villain that calls out the United Nations both in game and in real life, you got problems.

[@sahilhossian2449]

@@williamhumes7332 a bruh moment for modern society

[@Joshua_N-A]

@@williamhumes7332 I see the UN more as a relic as the days go by.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

@@Joshua_N-A They Used to be able to declare war. Now they largely toothless

[@deinekes9]

I loved Advance Warfare becuase its story did something that a lot of other games have tried but failed to do: make a plausible powerful enemy in the near future. Atlas and Jonathan Irons were products of the socio-economic ideologies and flaws of our current global economic and political systems combined with what should be the fruits of the next scientific and industrial revolution. It starts as a mere corporation but morphs into a global quasi-superstate. Atlas became powerful because we not only allowed it but outright encouraged it. In a way, its almost like the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of Hydra and SHIELD. And then there's Kevin Spacey....yeah, he deserves all the bad things that happened to him IRL, but his portrayal of Irons was an awesome Thanos-like villain.

[@Joshua_N-A]

Usually, Japan pull this kind of story. I don't think Irons is an antagonist but there's 2 protagonist, Mitchell, the hero and the aforementioned Irons, the villain. The antagonist should be the current state of the world, the major world powers and even the society itself.

[@breadm8101]

Atlas wasn't just a paramilitary group, they were lead in medical, engineering, biology, and all technological innovations.

[@RagnokRaven]

a "small" detail right? ...those idiots who dont understand ATLAS and Irons

[@SuspiciouslyGroomedPegasus]

Its really a damm Shame that call of duty doesn't have vehicle gameplay anymore, like it did in world at war and earlier titles... Unless its a scripted segment, since I think Advanced warfare would have been one of the coolest games in the series IF they would have let you use all of the cool Ass vehicles that Advanced warfare had in its story, in the multiplayer. And the Advanced movement mechanics would have been much better on larger maps, but sadly activison and the studio just play things too safe.

[@spicyjalepenos999]

Modern warfare2019 and cold war have a lot of vehicle combat wtf. I'm sure vanguard is gonna too

[@nhandinh7404]

@@spicyjalepenos999 What about COD WW2? Wasn’t there that Jeep with an MG you could use to destroy things?

[@Fulcrox]

@@nhandinh7404 isnt it scripted?

[@blakjackal]

Disappointed they went down the typical corporation-government-takeover storyline. Writers don't seem to realise that corporations are MUCH more powerful when they have nations hooked to them for every want and need. That's real power. Why would you murder your customer base?

[@Joshua_N-A]

Wasted potential. Irons served and spilled blood for his nation and create Atlas as a punishment fot himself due to his lack of will to bring an end to a conflict as a soldier. Through Atlas, he forge this iron will and harden it to fix the ills of the world. The trope Well-Intentioned Extremist could've the core of Irons' character. He create Atlas not just as a company but also a place to call home for ill-treated soldiers, abandoned by their government who sees them as expendables of which Irons thought he was during his service. Hence the R&D on medical and military gave Irons the advantage that the major world powers envy for. He exert that power to test the will of the nations, see if they got the iron will to carry the burden of the world and its problem. He's not just a typical business tycoon or capitalist but he see himself as a common man against the world. He try to fix the world himself and see other powers as unworthy to lead.

[@TheArklyte]

Same reason why Thanos has stupid plan in MCU - if they write a good villain with good plan and understandable logical motivation then they need to write even better heroes that challenge that instead of just punching him. Creatively bankrupt writers that make propagandist pulp fiction can't write that good. So instead they make dumb villain for their dumb heroes.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

@@TheArklyte Wouldn't call Thanos that. Still held as one good villain since he was villain who acted like truly the hero of his own story. Besides, the Original Comics had a more maniac goal than what we got in film

[@Fulcrox]

@@silverhawkscape2677 i love Thanos but man, his plan is a joke jajaja

[@cbtenthusiast7133]

haven't you heard of cutting out the middle man?

[@nqh4393]

I wish we had a choice to side with Atlas and play the "necessary evil" route.

[@tylerchristensen9102]

This game was one of my favorites. Thanks for giving it some love! The exo-suits and the unique almost "plausable" future felt like a "realistic" snapshot of the future of war. Which was still cool. And Atlas as a good guy gone bad guy? Very good story-telling world building character driven setup. So, yeah. Thanks!

[@TheLoneTerran]

Granted a seat on the Security Council, immediately secedes from the UN instead of using the damned veto he was **just** granted to stop cooperation at the highest levels.

[@privatehudson516]

The whole “Atlas and the Exo suit revolutionized Warfare”talk becomes hilarious and ironic if you have played AW's multiplayer, where Mp40 and a single fire musket shotgun can still help you reign over opponents who are using future guns.

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

During WWII there were AA guns that simply could not hit WWI era aircraft because they were not designed to shoot at something so slow. It is entirely possible that the people making the exo suits simply didn't think of such low-velocity rounds as a major issue

[@funnyvalentinedidnothingwrong]

@@Sir_Uncle_Ned Some AA guns could hit them, but the rounds would just punch straight through without detonating because of the weaker materials in WWI planes not having enough resistance, leaving the planes relatively unscathed. IIRC, that's how the Bismarck finally popped clogs. Buncha old British bombers that were pressed into service managed to get a lucky hit in and disabled it because it was _too_ advanced.

[@guardiadecivil6777]

the taliban still fielded some guns from ww1 and ww2 and look where that got them

[@Marylandbrony]

“Great Junior High up the road from here” -Kevin Spacey

[@DickbuttDirk]

Yeesh

[@Zeptus1488]

Awesome, I was thinking about Advanced Warfare and Atlas for the past few weeks. God I miss the AW campaign. Sadly I don’t have the game anymore.

[@Joshua_N-A]

Would've been better if they insert BO2's branching storyline in it. Multiple endings.

[@Perspective557]

Even tho Jonathan Iron was depicted "bad" in the game, he has some great points like "politician don't know how to fix the world" and "wars led to only more wars"

[@jonauclair8209]

After cold wars life span is done, you should talk about the Aetherium arms race, between the US and USSR!

[@cristianlotti5328]

That would cool, but from what devs have said, the story will continue in Vanguard.

[@putraharith8426]

@@cristianlotti5328 But it still will makes sense for the Templin Institute to make a video about the Aetherium Arms Race, because Vanguard's zombies story will be a prequel Edit: At least I think it's a prequel story-wise

[@abankson0346]

Atlas from RWBY: Who...Who are you!? ATLAS from Call of Duty AW: We're you but BETTER and ADVANCED than you.

[@loganwhitney8471]

It does make you think if Iron's is dead, but Atlas is still going. Whats stopping their other leaders from doing three things, 1) Keeping Iron's goal alive and keep on fighting against the world, 2) Take control of the corporation for themselfs and just try to rule the world, or 3) Try to make amends for they're sins and help the other countries to rebuild and turn Atlas Corporation into something good. Those are my thoughts about it and tbh I'd like the third option better.

[@onekill31]

If AW2 really happens, it should be about the split factions, the Atlas loyalists and the other one are the disenchanted members.

[@ryanocarroll6426]

That was the most insightful piece of the campaign story of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare I've ever seen. Thank you, Templin Institute. I particularly liked how, at the end, you explain that Atlas didn't just simply follow Irons to the grave.

[@braziliankaiser8304]

You know, after the events in Russia, a Private Military Force taking over nations doesnt seem far fetched anymore.

[@jonnyrawket8158]

The fact we never got a sequel to AW2 is criminal, the plot of the campaign has so much potential for a sequel.

[@Reaper-ds9vx]

Advanced warfare would be a great prequel to BO3 and infinite warfare

[@Joshua_N-A]

Wasn't USA devastated in Ghost or Ghost is an AU (alternate universe)? America wouldn't be completely rebuilt by 2050's.

[@dianabarnett6886]

It certainly seems like a prequel to infinite warfare

[@BpISForEver278]

@@Joshua_N-A ghost came before aw so us became a super power again

[@BpISForEver278]

@@Joshua_N-A dude us cities were destroyed but the government still existed and it still had bases like if u listen to what the guy on mission 1 said the cities were targeted but the government and military was still intact so

[@playerarmy6890]

​@@dianabarnett6886 my headcanon is that the MW trilogy, advanced warfare and maybe infinite warfare are all in the same universe.

[@brickcraftproductions3065]

Ah Yes the Game that featured these guys in the Call of Duty Game I got since MW3, which spawned the "Press F to pay respects" meme

[@walterhaider869]

The most unrealistic part of this is that people trusted the villian. His actor alone tells you he can be trusted.

[@Joshua_N-A]

Would people trust Char Aznable more than the Zabis though? AW is a wasted potential to me. Grey morality is badly needed in CoD series. If they put a bit of grey in AW, Irons would have the Well-Intentioned Extremist trope, while Mitchell, the protagonist would be ordered to secure Atlas vital assets such as the WMD by the US government, making that the supposed to be good guys doing shady stuff.

[@walterhaider869]

@@Joshua_N-A good point

[@thekiller7994]

@@Joshua_N-A I agree, there is so much wasted potential

[@jehoiakimelidoronila5450]

Atlas: *the only corporation that gives out the most expensive calling cards, drop pods with big-ass flat screens, and hover bikes* Money well-spent on the last one

[@heli0s101]

I'm here for the Kevin Spacey diddling jokes.

[@bwtrader]

Call of Diddling.. Advance diddler

[@theflanman420420]

His role in this game was touching…..

[@akhilpillay4262]

Atlas lost because of plot armour Change my mind

[@omegadirective]

The game never comes out and says it, but Atlas Corporation is essentially a challenge of the status quo that says warfare and exertion of violence is the exclusive domain of nation-states. When a private military can do all that but for the highest bidder, it completely disrupts the world order. Look at 2021 now when we have PMCs from Russia involved in Syria, American PMCs in Afghanistan and Iraq, mercenaries working for dictators during the Arab Spring, and stateless terror groups. Advanced Warfare wasn't that far off the mark.

[@rosesareredbutzerglingssti9290]

We need a sequel for Advanced Warfare! I want to know what comes next, now that Irons is dead but Atlas forces still are around.

[@thewelsh-lad8719]

"Force my friends is violence, the supreme authority from which all authority is derived." - Jean Rasczak

[@memoryfoam2285]

As flawed as AW was I actually enjoyed the lore, hope we get a continuation.

[@Joshua_N-A]

Atlas is an interesting faction. Wish it was written as anti villain and not as a take over the world one dimensional kind. I mean, what if Atlas is full of homeless soldiers, former child soldiers and those who affected by endless conflicts around the world. Irons fought and bled for his nation. His son's death made him into a broken man who try to fix the broken world, plagued by conflcts and apathy. AW's world is perfect for a grey morality story. Irons is a well-intentioned extremist while the world governments aren't that innocent either like having a mission to secure Atlas' WMD with intention to keep it instead of dismantle it before other major powers manage grab hold of it. It'll make you question the government's action of doing so.

[@shadyyam2488]

it was damn near perfect. we need a sequel

[@Dre-yd2xh]

well everything has flaws, nothing is perfect

[@truthfulgaming996]

This video is very well-made and is quite an interesting viewpoint on a large, fictional megacorporation. I had heard of Atlas, but i never realized quite how truly large it really is. The Templin Institute does an excellent job with the story telling and backstory for many of these fictional video game entities and I enjoy their content.

[@uncreative4497]

For some reason this video referring to the main characters as just “Atlas deserters” like they’re some nameless side characters makes CoD:AW sound more interesting

[@MrKnight19971]

This really just confirms the moral impossibility of anarcho-capitalism. Cod:AW is basically about corporate corruption ironically doing worse than state corruption.

[@pauldickinson3961]

Irons didn’t even need to declare war to take over the world. All he had to do was tell the nations of the world that they had to bend the knee to him or he’d take away the resources they were dependent on for survival. They would have had no choice but to obey.

[@shaftoe195]

Lol, yes. But it's CoD, and they wanted to have their own Frank Underwood as the villain for players to kill.

[@nicktechnubyte1184]

The sad thing is dying for what you believe in doesn't make it true! Now the moto for all Russian soldiers in Ukraine!

[@lavellelee5734]

Too true. Imma use this for a anime/video game

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

Something I wish I could tell every ISIS suicide bomber.

[@nicktechnubyte1184]

@@jakespacepiratee3740 just isis? Not every suicide bomber?

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

@@nicktechnubyte1184 yeah fair thats true.

[@aatusha]

Imagine having no convictions lmao

[@m.sydneyvern2260]

I personally love the plot of Advanced Warfare saying what happens if you give one company too much power and when governments fail they just swoop in to take over. Also i love all the weapons in the game like EXO suits, huge battle armour with a mini gun and missiles, also those Titan tanks the ones with the legs i think those were cool.

[@evanhaskel206]

I wonder if Irons always intended for Atlas to become the only superpower in the world. Or if that became his vision after Will (his son) died.

[@paolocalzone7186]

Power changes everything

[@mezarisage6055]

Having now fully laid out this setting, I look forward to the institute tearing it apart as shoddy writing in the next week.

[@kicokyaw1039]

What I found really hard to believe was that everyone who worked for Atlas stayed loyal to the company after it had declared war on the whole world. Most of its employees would have instantly left or deserted. Plus a corporation like Atlas just doesn't have the same capabilites as a powerful nation, the moment it declared war on one, it would legit just be overwhelmed with the resources, manpower, and strength of a millions of people

[@Darkfyreofthezenith]

See, I’ve been thinking about that. What do you call an organization that provides food, water, shelter, security and medicine to people in exchange for money and has no competition offering the same services in the same location? Hint, it’s not a company, it’s a government. By the time of the Atlas war, atlas is functionally a government in of itself that’s spread across more traditional national borders. You’re assuming that these people have families living elsewhere, but what makes you think the soldiers and engineers and technicians don’t have family in New Baghdad? That’s probably where they’d be right? It’s not like you’d want to be halfway across the world from your family if you could have a safe place for them nearby. To them, they’re not attacking their loved ones, they’re defending them. From the protagonists. The whole sequence of events rests on the lynchpin of Irons knowing about the KVA attack but not doing anything. You remove that and it’s the story of a new kind of government, essentially a technocratic oligopolistic meritocratic state supplanting the current nation state model. And if people think that new government is better, they’ll support it. We know irons is evil cause we know he let the attacks happen. But the people who support him? They don’t.

[@duncanharrell5009]

Keep in mind the world of Advanced Warfare is absolute shit. Considering how little trust or faith people have in their current governments, and considering how the USMC and US Govt. Treated Mitchell after he lost his arm compared to Atlas, I could see people picking Atlas over their governments if current trends continue.

[@EVER_PRINCE]

This game had one of the greatest storylines

[@Joshua_N-A]

AW should be written as grey instead of typical bad guy vs good guy black and white.

[@playerarmy6890]

​@@Joshua_N-A agree, the story is already good if atlas was more grey the story would have been perfect

[@nicktechnubyte1184]

Press F to pay your respects!

[@jayandom4237]

F

[@TXNICK96]

YES! I was hoping you guys would do this one

[@user-gs2cd4do6z]

I loved the Advanced Warfare campaign but man they really downplayed the scale of the battle I had no idea the battle was worldwide. I thought Atlas attacked San Francisco and the Baghdad siege was the immediate reaction.

[@miliba]

Press F to pay respects

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

Im pressing F, Jeffery.

[@nicktechnubyte1184]

I'm pressing F for joker, who was unjustly taken out of the game half way through without any explanation!

[@shadowmamba95]

Look, I know that the new MW timeline is likely different from AW, but can you imagine if Atlas is built from remnants of Shadow Company and Konni Group in the new MW timeline?

[@Zoshnell]

Atlas' biggest technological innovation was the invention of pressing F to Pay Respects.

[@samalvey8168]

One corporation against 163 nations.

[@quandingleberry445]

ez squad wipe

[@TheAlmightyPrime]

They all got too dependent on Atlas

[@philipwrighton]

I think it would be easy to explain that Irons death didn't affect Atlas's operations at all. Companies that are extremely large like Atlas have succession and such down to the T. I think killing Irons would be a blow but at the end of the day, all corporations serves a board of directors and Irons was only the face of them.

[@Moonstone-Redux]

Internal conflict would also be interesting to explore. Once you get a globe-spanning workforce and management, you will necessarily have differing value systems to work with. Even in the real world, where allied nation states work towards a shared goal, opinions on how to pursue these goals can differ so much that they can stymie quick reaction and deployment, and this will only get worse as an organisation gets bigger and more diverse in competencies and interests. How did all the executives in Atlas fall in line, and how were they able to get enough of their own personnel to fall in line enough that this mass coordinated attack can work? So far we saw this conflict from the American and Western European perspective. How did it pan out in the non-Western aligned East Asian nations like China and India? Nation states themselves have measures to secure their own self-sufficiency and it would be a cold day in hell before China gives up Norinco or India gives up Hindustan to become solely dependent on what seems to be an American-controlled corporation for their defense. Even tiny Singapore has their Singapore Technologies that manufactures all their small arms and ammunition for local and export use.

[@Tark022]

ATLAS has joined codm

[@alecnorton5490]

To be fair he was right about the inevitable Corruption of all politicians just saying.

[@pricelessppp]

This and Black ops 2 are the only science fiction call of duties I actually liked!

[@laa9965]

*Guys Guys Guys!!!* Wagner's PMCs is an ATLAS from CoD. 1) Wagner has all the necessary equipment. Wagner has: - Tanks - Armored personnel carriers and infantry Combat vehicles - Various artillery and MLRS "Grad"/"Hurricane" - Air defense - Recon units - Su-27 and Su-25 fighters - Mi-24 and Mi-8/17 helicopters - Engineering Units - Assault units (majority) - drones - Electronic warfare Units - And much more The only thing Wagner doesn't have is a fleet. 2)The creator of the Wagner PMCs, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said: "The Wagner Center PMCs is a complex of buildings in which there are places for free accommodation of inventors, designers, IT specialists, experimental production and startup spaces. The mission of the Wagner Center PMC is to provide a comfortable environment for generating new ideas in order to increase Russia's defense capability, including information. If the project shows its success and relevance, we will consider the need to open branches."

[@WilliamMosicki-Nystrom]

Factions I would like to see next: 1. Blackwatch - Prototype 2. The Whisperers - The Walking Dead 3. The Reapers - Mass Effect 4. Necromorphs - Dead Space 5. Greater Korean Republic - Homefront 6. The Sith Order - Star Wars 7. The Jedi Order - Star Wars 8. Dominion of Isengard - Lord of the Rings 9. House Bolton of the Dreadfort - Game of Thrones 10. The Black Templars - Warhammer 40K

[@darthjekyll3648]

camoragh-warhammer sith empires- starwars legends institute-fallout age of technology-warhammer 40k

[@amazingbro6723]

Cool, never expect this before, add on the list of exploring corporations

[@sebastianmurphy7507]

I wish the game let me choose to follow Atlas. They look so cool with their weapons, vehicles, and technologies. But most important is their XS1 GOLIATH.

[@Fulcrox]

The Game plot died when we we're forced to defect to the US forces in a gigantic cliche instead of making it a Player choice and make ATLAS suddenly an evil Empire with concentration camps (like Guantanamo isnt a thing Mitchell lmao)

[@danirey425]

Honestly I like their up front policy, they tell you to your face that they sell power. As advertised.

[@bldarkman]

Atlas should have been broken apart by anti-monopoly laws long before it ever got as large as it did. The laws are there for a reason.

[@Joshua_N-A]

Atlas' assets would be handed over to US government due to its significance in R&D field. America doesn't want to lose its technological supremacy and military prowess. What Atlas did was humiliating the US military and to the extent, the government. It made US a laughing stock.

[@dianabarnett6886]

Laws don't matter if you have enough influence and power.

[@CortexNewsService]

Have you noticed today's corporations?

[@explosivemodesonicmauricet1597]

@@CortexNewsService All what we need is for the corps to merge into one and voila,Atlas in real life!

[@Jay-qb9gi]

@@CortexNewsService the US government would never let them to get to the scale of Atlas though

[@jordanwilliams2557]

I LEGIT THOUGHT IT WAS MAKAROV SPEAKING

[@aidiotjr8128]

Weirdly this is one of those I was looking forward to, and didn’t even know it.

[@jabajoba]

Actually liked the campaign for AW so Im happy to actually see this here

[@Logan-lv7yz]

The story in advanced warfare was really good. I remember my buddy got it and we took turns playing on the hardest difficulty and I went to bed and woke up and they had finished it and started on multiplayer. I didn't much enjoy the multiplayer but I went back and finished the campaign when they fell asleep and I really enjoyed it.

[@theioncow18]

I don’t really want a sequel for AW, I’d rather have a remake. It’d be a much better story if we played as Will Irons, since the villain would be a lot closer, and it would be a difficult decision whether to stay with him and fuel his power lust, or leave him and resist. Also, I feel like if they did a remake, Atlas wouldn’t betray their customers for no reason. We might get some other group resisting them, though I don’t have any ideas on who that could be. Maybe we could fight for Atlas, or even let tne player make the decision to stay or resist.

[@thechosenone3067]

This is Good I love this game!!

[@nicktechnubyte1184]

It was the last good game in the series

[@elitelenny_streams]

Finally! I was thinking there would be at least some documentary about the ATLAS Corporation somehow. :)

[@tigerruss5277]

I think you guys should do next is the EDF or Earth Defense Force from Red Faction series that would be awesome and interesting

[@baconwhale6414]

Tbh, the first mission's story in AW where you fight in a futuristic Korean War is better than the story of the entire campaign.

[@draco_1876]

No

[@fortis3686]

Can you do Makarov’s inner circle or Nova 6?

[@Sorain1]

Man, I wish The Templin Institute would dig into Armored Core 4/4A's National Dismantlement War. Because while we don't have a lot to work with, it's a fascinating parallel to this in the sense of a business taking such steps to 'flip the board' on international politics.

[@ColbyJack231]

AW was one of my favorite cods, mostly cuz I like to think of it as a lost Lab Rats episode where Douglas fights Kevin Spacey.

[@ArmouredProductions]

We need more Exoskeleton games.

[@spacewargamer4181]

Agree 💯%

[@A_Humming_Bird]

Power changes everything.

[@critical_shot9292]

Press F to pay respects, what a beautiful line.

[@messageinthebottle1673]

Advance warfare had very awesome storytelling and for its graphics i saw it very realistic and pretty well animated as if I was actually watching a movie instead of playing a video but the video game was pretty fun regardless and I love the story of a coperate army.

[@calebbrown681]

I still think Advanced Warfare is a great game story wise. Yes the multiplayer had problems and it catches a lot of hate for that, but the exo zombies were terrifying and a ton of fun. They really finished off their story in one game but if they had split it into 2 and gave us longer missions and a more fleshed out story to let us get to know Atlas it would’ve been even better

[@FredDankie]

The World Needs This. In time, this WILL happen

[@TemplinInstitute]

Wrong on all counts.

[@AdamsRandomCollection]

Basically what if Frank Amodeo succeeded in a nutshell

[@rosaria8384]

Shame that SHG never expanded upon this tbh. Advanced Warfare 2 would have been great which focused on the remnants of Atlas

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

It's a shame that CoD doesn't do single-player campaigns anymore. They could create some truly amazing backstories, plots, and setpieces without being too over the top even in context. Well, at least the good ones could. And they always left so much on the table for sequels that never arrived. How would you rebuild a world torn apart by Atlas? How do you eliminate the ghost of the world's last superpower? Why kill the vast majority of your customers with bioweapons? What could create such unfettered greed in a person? How could said greed even exist in a world where money is worthless?

[@duncanharrell5009]

Also how could a world win when something like Atlas exists? Look how big and powerful they became and look at the state of the world. Second Jorean War became a WW1 style bloody attrition war with drones, future tanks, and exo suits. Global nuclear meltdowns simultaneously triggered across the world. Various natural disasters unfolding. Could probably throw in the stuff we’ve gone through and current tensions. It’s a mess. No wonder Atlas would have so many supporters.

[@tempest6840]

The God of Endurance and the one who held the sky aloft form crashing on the Earth