With yesterday's Future of Gaming broadcast showing off a whole host of new titles coming to the PlayStation 5, many were surprised to not see the newest Call of Duty ever take center stage. With so many rumors surrounding the supposed next entry in the Black Ops series, it seemed a given that Activision's biggest franchise would have a premiere spot on PlayStation's major announcement reel, so why did it not make an appearance?
It seems two major industry insiders have revealed why exactly Call of Duty took a back seat during PlayStation's showcase, with the general consensus being that the game isn't looking to debut any time soon. The reports themselves come from both Bloomberg's Jason Schreier and Eurogamer's Tom Phillips, with both of the popular journalists stating on Twitter that the game's announcement is still a ways off.
Responding to a fan who wondered why Call of Duty didn't make the cut for the PlayStation 5 reveal, Jason Schreier claimed "New COD might not be announced for a while, last I heard." Tom Phillips, on the other hand, had a conversation with a fan prior to the broadcast who wondered if it will be there, to which the journalist stated "No, a little way off - maybe further than some expect." Both these tweets seem to align with a number of reports that suggested the franchise would break its long-time tradition of announcing a sequel by the end of May, with the series seemingly holding off talking about whatever's next for the series for a later date.
Naturally, this does prompt speculation that Call of Duty 2020 could be delayed due to issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, as was suggested in a few leaks back in March. Announcing the game later in the year could be due to the title not being at the point in its development cycle where Treyarch is comfortable showing it. However, it's obviously worth waiting to hear what the studio has to say about its newest Call of Duty release before jumping to conclusions about its status.
That being said, if the game were to be delayed, it's not as if Call of Duty isn't already in a fairly comfortable place within the online community. Call of Duty: Warzone is currently one of the most popular multiplayer games on the market, boasting thousands of players each and every day, while Modern Warfare has just introduced its fourth season of content. If Treyarch needed more time to work on the next game in the Black Ops series, it's not as if the franchise couldn't survive the downtime.
Call of Duty 2020 is currently in development.