Given all the drama and excitement from yesterday, you would almost forget that Activision still had some video games in them. But lo and behold, they have come to remind us about Call of Duty.
CharlieIntel reports this on Twitter:
“Activision once again confirms a “full annual premium release” in the Call of Duty franchise is launching later this year. They did not mention a developer, but it’s widely rumored to be Sledgehammer Games.
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile also still set for this year.”
It is definitely absolutely strange that Activision has been mum about what this game actually is. When they first confirmed that there would be a 2023 “Full Annual Premium Release” two months ago, it wasn’t quite that alarm bells were ringing, but there was certainly something strange to the announcement. It quite clearly did not come with an official game title, or any other details.
Activision has also been quite mum in the face of multiple rumors about the game. There was one that it was apparently a futuristic title set in 2050. Another rumor came that it was actually Call of Duty Modern Warfare II content, that the company decided to spin off into its own game.
Regarding the futuristic Call of Duty rumor, interestingly enough, a rumor was going around as far back as 2021 that the Call of Duty game scheduled for this year would be futuristic theme, and that the developer this time would be Treyarch.
We still don’t know if either of these rumors are correct, or incorrect, which really makes you wonder why Activision is still mum about it.
Unfortunately, we may have to face up to a bad possibility: As either the last or penultimate Call of Duty game under Activision’s deal with Sony, they can’t delay or reschedule this game, and Activision knows that this game won’t be good.
The reason for that could have nothing to do with bad faith on Activision’s part, and there really could be several reasons. It’s possible the 2021 rumor was true, but that game has been turning out poorly. So Activision doesn’t want to show that game until they’re releasing it.
Alternately, the other rumor could be true that this is Call of Duty Modern Warfare II content being retooled into its own game. In which case, Activision may be rushing to get it done on time, and it’s just not ready to show right now.
In any case, given the strange position Activision and Sony find themselves in, this will be a very awkward release when we see it later this year.
