For the first time since 2005, we might not get a Call of Duty game next year.
Bloomberg reported that Activision Blizzard has moved to delay 2023’s Call of Duty to further polish the game, after the recent entry in the series failed to meet expectations.
According to the report, some executives believed new games in the series were introduced too quickly.
As GameSpot noted – both Vanguard and Warzone were released last year but underperformed compared to 2020’s titles.
Call of Duty: Vanguard especially, received mixed reviews; some have even called it the worst game in the series.
Bloomberg noted that the move to postpone 2023’s Call of Duty title was made by Activision and not due to Microsoft buying the company for US$69 billion.
The report went on to note that a Call of Duty game is still on track to be released this year with fans guaranteed a bunch of additional content, and there will be a new free-to-play online title coming next year.
Bloomberg also said Activision was working on other projects to fill the gap next year – perhaps projects involving a still untitled survival game that Blizzard teased back in January?
In a statement to IGN, Activision did not deny the Bloomberg report but instead said the company was planning a slew of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences “for this year, next year and beyond. Reports of anything otherwise are incorrect.”
Call of Duty is an outsized giant in the gaming world – Activision’s annual release of the series is seen as one of gaming world’s largest money-makers and last year, CoD took the title of the best-selling franchise in the US for the 14th year in a row.
*Featured image from Call of Duty
By Samantha Chan \ 17:00, 3 March 2022