In the aftermath of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, there have been plenty of questions regarding the future of Call of Duty. In particular, questions about how the franchise will change and whether it will become an Xbox console exclusive in the future. While the exclusivity question is still up for debate, potential changes to the franchise are starting to become clearer.
According to a new report from Bloomberg, Microsoft’s purchase of Activision has bolstered hopes that Call of Duty can move away from the yearly release schedule. According to the report, “High-level employees at Activision have discussed moving away from the annual release schedule.” It’s believed that the weak launch of Call of Duty: Vanguard last year led to serious considerations about moving away from the yearly schedule. Although nothing had been decided. Current Call of Duty developers believe that the franchise would benefit from games having more time. “There’s a belief among many Call of Duty developers that releasing games at a slower cadence will please players and help bolster the franchise”
Microsoft doesn’t have a history of pumping out the same franchises year after year. The company tends to give a lot of breathing room between releases and allows developers to take their time. This was most recently proven when Microsoft elected to delay Halo: Infinite by a full year after a disastrous gameplay video showed that the game wasn’t anywhere near ready. Given that Activision has a long history of milking franchises yearly, it’s quite a difference in culture.
Call of Duty can certainly benefit from more time between releases. While the games are technically well made, players have complained for years that the series is stale. Similar complaints were made about the Assassin’s Creed franchise while that was still a yearly release. The last three games have all benefitted from longer development times and higher critical acclaim than the games immediately proceeding them. Call of Duty developers presumably believe that their franchise could benefit from the same change.
