Activision Blizzard revealed in yesterday’s earnings call that they intend to release a new Call of Duty as part of their slate for 2014.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed the new Call of Duty, as well as a new Skylanders title, as potential releases as early as next year, while confirming with certainty Diablo 3’s arrival to PS4, the release of the 1st Diablo 3 expansion, Reaper of Souls, and more content for World of Warcraft. They are also hopeful on the pending release of Bungie’s ambitious multiplatform, Destiny.
Rumors are swirling that Sledgehammer may be working on a new Call of Duty, but is it really possible or smart for Activision to release a new COD, not to mention a new Skylanders, so soon? Both franchises certainly make the company’s bread and butter, but conventional wisdom is to space out the release of new installments in these important franchises to maximize potential revenue and give developers time to breathe and consider how to improve on the next iteration. There’s also the potential of sequel fatigue, which some players claim is already happening for them.
It may be possible these are smaller titles, similar to when Square Enix shocked with news of an upcoming Deus Ex game, only to reveal Deus Ex: The Fall was a smartphone game, albeit one ambitious for its platform.
However, the real apparent concern here is that Activision Blizzard has spread its resources too thin. When you look at the lack of parity and numerous issues across the game’s multiple ports, you can’t help but wonder if they should pool resources on fixing ongoing issues for now.
