2023’s Call of Duty game may be delayed to the following year. This would mark the first time since 2004 that a year would pass without a new mainline Call of Duty game, which has gotten new entries on an annual basis since 2005’s Call of Duty 2.
As reported by Bloomberg, Activision Blizzard is delaying 2023’s Call of Duty in hopes of further polishing the game. Seeing as Microsoft has announced its intention to continue developing Activision franchises for competing console platforms, that likely means we’ll see this new Call of Duty launch for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.
The report also says that Activision Blizzard is pushing this new Call of Duty’s release following a recent game failing to meet expectations. No exact game is listed but both Vanguard and Warzone underperformed in 2021 in comparison to Black Ops Cold War and Warzone in 2020, so it’s likely in reference to one of those.
According to the report, Treyarch will assist in developing an upcoming, yet-to-be-announced free-to-play online game. That game will launch in 2023, filling Call of Duty’s slot.
Bloomberg also recently reported that three Call of Duty games are currently in the works. Two of those games have been confirmed: Call of Duty: Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2. The third unannounced game is the one that’s being delayed. It’s being worked on by Treyarch.
Activision Blizzard said that Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 are being designed together from the ground up–Infinity Ward is helming development of both.
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