The Call of Duty series has taken its fair share of blows as Call of Duty: Vanguard seemingly missed the mark with its fans despite still selling well. With the steady stream of bad press, fans have been siding with the notion of Call of Duty finally taking a year off in order to get extra time to make a more quality game. Earlier today, news broke that the Call of Duty 2023 entry was taking that one-year break. The news garnered mixed reception veering towards the positive side as fans feel it's the right move. An Activision spokesperson has now responded to refute these claims.
First reported by gaming insider Tom Henderson and Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, Call of Duty was reportedly going to take a gap year and continue to support Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty Warzone in 2023. It was also reported that Activision would find a product to release in the interim. If it were to really happen, it would mark the first year without a new Call of Duty entry since 2005. The story reported by Bloomberg was later updated to include the statement from Activision.
"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."
The statement does not deny the claim that the 2023 entry in the Call of Duty franchise is officially delayed, but it does not outright reject the notion. The statement also gives no specifics as to what will come next for the franchise, but it sounds confident that there will be some form of Call of Duty content coming in 2023. Call of Duty: Vanguard has made a disappointing mark in the fanbase. The franchise is steadily releasing constant content in Vanguard and Warzone while dealing with the ongoing internal and in-game issues.
The 2022 entry to the series has long been rumored to be the sequel to the Modern Warfare reboot series that was released in 2019 as well as a sequel to the free-to-play Warzone 2 Battle Royale mode. Treyarch, who would be slated to develop the 2023 Call of Duty game would still support some development of Warzone 2, but its focus would be primarily on using the extra time to make the Call of Duty game that would come in 2024.
The initial report stated that the decision to skip a 2023 Call of Duty release was not influenced by the recent Microsoft acquisition. Even after the deal goes through in Summer 2023, Activision will still operate independently. Time will tell how the company will proceed with its strategy towards Call of Duty in 2023 and beyond.
Call of Duty 2022 is currently in development with Call of Duty 2023 being reportedly delayed.
Source: Bloomberg