According to a report from Bloomberg, Activision will not release a Call Of Duty title in 2023, marking the first time the studio will be without a mainstream release in more than fifteen years.
A recent instalment into the long-running, highly popular shooter franchise failed to meet commercial expectations, so instead, Activision will be working on other projects to fill the space left. Looking ahead to the immediate future, a new Call Of Duty title, a sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot, will launch at the end of the year, while a new “free-to-play online title” will debut in 2023, according to unnamed sources within Activision.
Treyarch will reportedly lend a hand in the development of the project. In a financial statement from Activision earlier this month, the studio confirmed that Call Of Duty: Vanguard had performed poorly, with net bookings across both console and PC declining year-over-year throughout the fourth quarter.
“We have an exciting slate of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year and beyond,” confirmed a spokesman for Activision in response to the Bloomberg report, as reported by IGN. “We look forward to sharing more details when the time is right”, they added in a lengthy email.
The financial statement from Activision further confirmed that Infinity Ward would take to the helm of the next premium game in the franchise, a first since 2019’s Modern Warfare. “The team is working on the most ambitious plan in franchise history, with industry-leading innovation and a broadly appealing franchise setting.” the statement reads. Theories and speculation in the past year all point to a Modern Warfare follow-up, including social media posts from a prominent leaker.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is available across all major platforms including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on Battle.net.
