Continuing the odd naming convention that takes past relesaes wholesale, Infinity Ward has confirmed that it’s working on a sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot (not a remake of 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2). We have the logo – which you can see below – but other than that, we’ve got precious little information about the game, what modes it will include, what it’ll look like, or how it’ll play. Prior to this formal reveal, we Activision Blizzard note that the Modern Warfare reboot sequel is “the most advanced experience in franchise history”, explaining that the release of the game (assumedly around holiday 2022) will tie in with a Warzone “experience” that is being built “from the ground-up alongside the premium game,” including “groundbreaking innovations.” It’s all nice and vague so far. This game could also mark the end of the yearly Call of Duty release – something we’ve seen in some for or another since 2005. A number of “high-level employees” at Activision are considering altering the release cadence of the Call of Duty series, and are considering moving away from the game’s current setup as an annual franchise. This would give the studios tied to the series – Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch and Raven – some room to breathe and commit to longer development cycles. This follows Activision Blizzard’s announcement that its stockholders have approved Microsoft’s proposal to acquire the company. Maybe a new, sophisticated CoD game can reverse the publisher’s fortunes somewhat; we recently heard that Blizzard’s first quarter financial results were lower year-over-year, “primarily reflecting product cycle timing for the Warcraft franchise.” Maybe the forever-popular CoD launch can save face on the Activision side, especially since the very public discrimination and harassment lawsuit against the company is still on-going.
