UPDATE 2/22 @ 8:43 PM ET: This article has been updated to include a statement from an Activision spokesperson to Screen Rant regarding the Bloomberg report.
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The annualized shooter franchise Call of Duty will be taking a year off for the first time in history in 2023. Since its inception in 2003, publisher Activision has released a new Call of Duty every year, making it one of the biggest and most reliable entertainment franchises running today. Despite always releasing in the last quarter of the year, the new Call of Duty consistently dominates the top of the yearly sales charts, almost always overtaking its competition.
Rumors that Activision was considering ditching Call of Duty's yearly release cycle began to swirl earlier this year following the news that Microsoft had acquired the company. Although the franchise is still at the top of the sales charts, the quality and year-to-year sales have been in a bit of a decline. Outside of a few games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the perception of the series has weakened and led many to believe it doesn't have the development time it needs to prosper.
With that said, a new report from already announced Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2. Treyarch will reportedly helm the next game in the franchise and release it in 2024. It's unclear if this means the series will continue to take a break from yearly releases after Treyarch's game. However, an Activision spokesperson has disputed these reports, saying "We have an exciting slate of 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."
With the way the series has been heading, Activision almost needs to take a year off to ensure the sustainability of the series. Although Call of Duty was a titan in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it has since become a prime example of what happens when a developer won't delay a game. The publisher would throw teams and money at the entries that weren't shaping up, hoping it would solve an issue that just needed more time. Games like Vanguard shipped with a watered-down zombies mode to check a box, Black Ops 4 cut its campaign, and Black Ops Cold War had a dramatic overhaul in its last year of development.
Rumors suggest Call of Duty 2024 will be semi-futuristic, presumably as another entry in the Black Ops series. Only time will tell what this extra development time will do for the new game, but one can hope that it provides one of the best entries in the series. As of right now, the focus on Modern Warfare II for an additional year speaks volumes about Activision's current confidence in the new Infinity Ward-developed shooter.
Source: Bloomberg, Jason Schreier/Twitter
