Call of Duty to Reportedly Skip 2023, Avoid Annual Release for First Time Since 2004
Activision will be delaying its Call of Duty release in 2023, skipping an annual launch for the first time in nearly two decades, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Following word of Microsoft's $68.7 billion deal to purchase Activision Blizzard, as well as Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 seemingly already confirmed to be in the works by Infinity Ward for 2022, it appears the next major news for Call of Duty fans is about to drop.
SCOOP: For the first time in two decades, Call of Duty will skip a year. Activision has delayed 2023's game, made by Treyarch, to 2024, sources tell Bloomberg. It's a shocking move that will have a massive impact on the franchise and the industry. https://t.co/tiozvqB1cE
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) February 22, 2022
"The company is pushing off the release after a recent entry in the series failed to meet expectations," the Bloomberg story reads, "leading some executives to believe that they're introducing new versions too rapidly."
According to Bloomberg, the decision was also not related to the Microsoft deal and that Treyarch's next iteration in the series will be scheduled to release in 2024.
Lastly, Bloomberg reports that Activision is working on other projects to "fill the gap," particularly with a "steady stream of additional content" for this year's Modern Warfare 2 reboot and a "new, free-to-play online title."
Ultimately, this development is not all that surprising considering the extensive sales and free-to-play weekends pushed out for Vanguard in recent weeks.
Do you think Call of Duty should stop releasing games yearly and allow their studios more time to develop a game before publishing?
— ModernWarzone (@ModernWarzone) January 19, 2022
In their 2020 Annual Report, Activision reported that Warzone brought in over 100 million players through to December 2020 since its March 2020 launch — over three times the number of people that played Call of Duty in 2018 — and that it's clear that they were increasingly dependent on their ability to "develop, enhance, and monetize" free-to-play games.
UPDATE (Feb. 23, 1:02 p.m. ET): An Activision spokesperson responded to reports regarding Call of Duty's annual release schedule in 2023. "We have an exciting slate of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year and beyond. Reports of anything otherwise are incorrect. We look forward to sharing more details when the time is right."