During the announcement of Activision Blizzard’s fourth quarter 2021 financial results on Thursday, the company confirmed that Infinity Ward would be leading the development of Call of Duty 2022. “The team is working on the most ambitious plan in franchise history, with industry-leading innovation and a broadly appealing franchise setting,” the company said.
Another brief confirmation came via the Infinity Ward Twitter account shortly after the announcement.
While it’s unclear what fans can expect next, most are looking forward to a follow-up to 2019s Call of Duty Modern Warfare. Warzone has introduced a number of characters likely to appear in a potential Modern Warfare 2, so for now, this seems like the most likely theory. In November 2021, a new Warzone map and several classic Modern Warfare 2 maps were reported to be in development for the 2022 title. The sequel will be centered around the drug war against Columbian cartels.
“Studio expansion has continued to add development resources worldwide as plans continue for ongoing live operations and new, unannounced titles in the Call of Duty universe,” Activision continued during the recent financial report.
In January, former Creative strategist Robert Bowling responded to a Twitter thread lamenting the state of the Call of Duty franchise. “It’s time to build from the studs up,” he said. “We need more than iteration, we need revitalization. A focus back on core gameplay and not content gateways. We used to treat our players like community and not consumers. We brought them into the fold for map feedback, not market feedback.”
The company also confirmed what many already knew to be the case–premium Call of Duty: Vanguard sales declined year-over-year compared to Black Ops Cold War in 2020. Overall engagement is also down in Call of Duty: Warzone. Surprisingly, Call of Duty Mobile grew year-over-year in Q4, largely due to an influx of Chinese players. Consumer spending on the title exceeded $1 billion in 2021.