Although it’s somewhat concerning that we’re almost through July and yet to hear what the folks at Activision’s Call of Duty studios have cooking for this year’s entry, word from the mouths of those involved has arrived to assure fans that a game is still on the way this year and work on it is going smoothly.
In an earnings call for its second quarter, Activision has confirmed as much, saying ““Activision’s teams are hard at work on major new instalments in the franchise slated for the fourth quarter. Development of this year’s full annual premium release on PC and console is proceeding well.” [via VGC]
Rumours have been swirling for some time that this year’s Call of Duty was originally slated to be a sizeable expansion for 2022’s Modern Warfare 2, but has since grown into its own full release to take on the title of Modern Warfare 3, with Sledgehammer Games on development.
The reveal of the new game was teased on Twitter earlier this week while also seemingly hinting at Modern Warfare 2 operators, weapons and bundle carrying over to the next title – adding further fuel to the fire that this is likely to be a Modern Warfare 3. A further reply has revealed that we can expect to see the first details around a reveal event for the game alongside the announcement of Season 05 of Modern Warfare 2, which should be next month.
Look for the first details about the [REDACTED] Reveal Event in the Season 05 Announcement and additional #MWII carry forward details soon. Stay frosty.
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) July 18, 2023
Activision and Microsoft have also just agreed to extend the deadline for Microsoft’s acquisition of the company while it works to satisfy global consumer authorities on the terms of its deal. It could be that by the time this next Call of Duty releases, it’ll be under the ownership of Team Xbox, although both it and PlayStation have also recently signed an agreement to keep the series on PlayStation platforms for at least the next ten years.