CoD is finally taking a much-needed break from its annual release schedule
In a welcome surprise from developing and publishing giants Activision, the Call of Duty title originally planned for next year will now be delayed until 2024.
As reported by Bloomberg‘s Jason Schreier, while this year’s CoD entry – highly expected to be Modern Warfare 2 – is still said to be on track, as the release cycle returns to Treyarch the studio will be taking time to finesse the project.
SCOOP: For the first time in two decades, Call of Duty will skip a year. Activision has delayed 2023's game, made by Treyarch, to 2024, sources tell Bloomberg. It's a shocking move that will have a massive impact on the franchise and the industry. https://t.co/tiozvqB1cE
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) February 22, 2022
As Schreier details, this is a huge business decision given that there has been a new instalment in the leading the FPS franchise every year for the last 17 years.
It is thought that the decision was made independently from Microsoft and their recent, record-breaking acquisition and was fundamentally driven by CoD: Vanguard vastly underperforming – especially in a year when its main competitor, Battlefield 2042, also received mixed reviews across the board.
This decision was made completely independently of Microsoft. Call of Duty Vanguard underperformed and Activision executives have been concerned about the games cannibalizing one another, sources say.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) February 22, 2022
In the meantime, Infinity Ward – the developers of the “next generation” of CoD – will be focusing on delivering the 2022 release and the collection of studios at large will provide further support for current/imminent offerings such as Vanguard, Warzone and its equally anticipated sequel.
Speaking to IGN in a follow-up, Activision issued a non-denial statement that may contradict Bloomberg‘s reports:
“We have an exciting slate of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year and beyond. Reports of anything otherwise are incorrect. We look forward to sharing more details when the time is right.”
However, the studio was unlikely to confirm such big news while the focus remains on other projects already in the pipeline and did not confirm to the outlet whether this was a direct denial.
It is also thought that the prospective 2023 title could refer to Warzone Mobile, which many fans have been asking to implement alongside the popular battle royale for some time.
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