Call of Duty
Sony has a high regard for Call of Duty, as evidenced by the statements reported to the Brazilian antitrust. Despite this, in the words of the Japanese giant, referring to the acquisition of Activision by Microsoft, it would be possible to find a serious error, concerning the involvement of users.According to Sony, in fact, Call of Duty is the exponent of the first person shooter genre. Difficult to blame the PlayStation publisher and producer. Over the past ten years, in fact, the franchise has established itself with a formula based on an annual release, aimed at building user loyalty. Thanks to a decidedly strong multiplayer, supported by a high-level Esport circuit, in recent years the series has however experienced a slight decline, confirmed by the publisher's latest report.
There are obviously reasons why the user base is dropping. The restrictions of the pandemic are evaporating around the world and this pushes people out more than just being stuck indoors. Activision, however, expects the number of players to rise again around the fall, when the new Modern Warfare 2 and of course Warzone 2.0, the updated edition of the Battle Royale, will debut. Sure, the release of two new games will increase interest, but perhaps a decade of booking a new title in the series every year may have led players to drift away. Under Microsoft, the series could undergo an important change, but at the moment they are only hypotheses, supported by some rumors and rumors, that would see the series take a break from the classic annual release model.
Call of Duty 2023 is delayed, but more CoD is coming in 2023
Call of Duty 2023 may have been delayed, but as Activision publishes its latest earnings report, predicting large-scale success for both Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, the studio also says that additional CoD content will nevertheless still arrive next year.
Reports from February claimed that Activision had officially delayed the launch of a Call of Duty game in 2023, citing both the underperformance of Call of Duty: Vanguard, and developer Treyarch moving to assist development of an upcoming free-to-play game as reasons to forego an annual CoD instalment for the first time since 2004. Warzone 2, the new version of Activision’s flagship battle royale, is expected to launch in 2022, with Modern Warfare 2 already confirmed for October 28. In its latest earnings call however, Activision says that more Call of Duty content is planned for the immediate future, including 2023.
“Anticipation is high for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, planned for release on console and PC on October 28,” the company says. “An all-new Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 experience, tightly integrated with the premium game, will launch as an extension of the Modern Warfare universe later this year.
“Across the Call of Duty ecosystem, the teams are well positioned to support these launches with substantial live operations while also continuing development of new premium content planned for 2023 and beyond.”
“Premium content” could refer to several different possibilities, including new game modes for Warzone, DLC for Modern Warfare 2, or simply additional weapons, skins, and other update content across the expanding CoD universe. “Premium” however suggests that whatever Activision is planning, it isn’t going to be free, hinting that the content for Call of Duty 2023 may be more substantial than cosmetics and perks. Perhaps the zombies mode for Modern Warfare 2 will be a paid expansion, or maybe, if you’re a wild optimist, the plans to cancel CoD 2023 have been reversed, and there will be a new Call of Duty game next year after all. Either way, the CoD roadmap is looking pretty populated for the near future, with the increasingly fierce and competitive Warzone demanding you pay special attention to getting the best sniper rifle and best loadout.