A new report states that this year’sCall of Dutywill serve as a continuation of theModern Warfaresubseries. TheCall of Dutyseries is known for releasing on a yearly basis every fall, typically with alternating developers and storylines.
Call of Dutyhas been helmed by a number of developers but has been typically been in the hands of either Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games, or Infinity Ward who kicked off the series in 2003. Infinity Ward was responsible for developing theModern Warfaresubseries that began withCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This title was hugely impactful and was the first time that many would experience the series in its modern-day setting. This subseries would be rebooted in 2019 with the gameCall of Duty: Modern Warfareand its sequel would end up being thebest-selling game of 2022in the U.S.
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Given that last year’sCall of Dutygame was part of theModern Warfaresubseries, many naturally expected this year’s entry would follow theBlack Opssubseries from Treyarch or be another one-off title from Sledgehammer Games. However, a new report from Jason Schreier of Bloomberg cites anonymous sources close to the game who state that this year’s entry will continue theModern Warfareseries and serve as a follow-up to last year’sCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This news comes about a year after reports that the2023Call of Dutywould be delayed, something that this new report corroborates and adds on to by stating the delayed entry was developed by Treyarch and that Sledgehammer Games would fill the gap for 2023.
Reportedly, this new entry developed by Sledgehammer Games initially served as a “premium expansion” to last year’s game but evolved into a full game with single-player and multiplayer content. This became a cause for concern for employees as they now had to grapple with a shortened schedule which they had previously experienced when developingCall of Duty: Vanguardwhich sold under expectationsand received mixed to negative reception from critics and fans.
Given how well the most recentCall of Duty: Modern WarfareandBlack Opsgames have sold and the lackluster performance ofVanguard, it can be inferred that Activision could be choosing to focus its efforts on what sells the best. This is made more likely given thatCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2continues to sell well and was thehighest-selling game of January 2023in the U.S. While this does mean that fans may not see more experimental one-offCall of Dutygames, it could also mean that current games will get more long-term support. In any case,Call of Dutyfans will surely have more to play in the future.
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