Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has proven to be another hit from the franchise, with the vaunted shooter currently selling like hotcakes. It should come as no surprise, then, that we would see a follow-up in the next year, but what form the next full-price Call of Duty release will take is currently a matter for debate.
Activision Blizzard released its third-quarter financial results yesterday, and the wording of a particular passage has insiders and journalists at odds as to its meaning. The passage in question reads, in part, "Activision is looking forward to building on its current momentum in 2023, with plans for next year including the most robust Call of Duty live operations to date, the next full premium release in the blockbuster annual series, and even more engaging free-to-play experiences across platforms."
Insider account CharlieIntel took this to mean that a new, premium Call of Duty game was on the cards for 2023, but Bloomberg's own Jason Schreier maintains that this wording is actually a reference to an expansion to Modern Warfare 2. Schreier has previously reported that an expansion to that game was currently in the works, citing a delay with the next mainline game currently being developed by Treyarch, expected to release in 2024.
Other key takeaways from the financial results include a nearly $300 million year-over-year drop from the third quarter of 2021, with Activision Blizzard attributing this to Call of Duty: Vanguard's less-than-stellar reception. The company stated that it had seen "reduced engagement for Call of Duty following the weaker reception for last year's premium release." We cannot imagine this state of affairs will continue in Q3 of 2023, considering the massive success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, earning more than $1 billion in just ten days on the market.
Do you think we will see a new Call of Duty title or an expansion to Modern Warfare 2 in 2023? Honestly, we could see it going either way. Is a full-priced expansion acceptable, or should we ready our pitchforks in earnest? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source investor.activision.com, via ign.com]
Comments 11
Why do we still pay any attention to Schreier? Everything he 'leaks" is either an existing rumor, an existing leak or straight out wrong.
I don't care how good a game is, if this means we need to reserve 200+ GB of hard disc space for a single game, I'm out.
@stefan771 He’s one of the very few actual journalists in our industry. It’s not all about leaks, but he’s fairly comprehensive in his deep dives and I think does his part in helping out those on the ground floor of development get their voices heard. He’s exposed a lot of horrible industry practices. We should be thankful to have him, as much as I may disagree with some of his takes.
There wont be a new Call of Duty next year so it will be DLC and free Content.
The premium is that they put something on the disc now?
What sucks is apparently Sledgehammer games is working on that next premium content. :/
£70 for entry (£100 for the vault edition) & it's not the 'premium' experience 🤣the greed of Activision is outstanding wish people would stop supporting this horribly company
@Would_you_kindly This is splitting hairs and twisting words. You can have hundreds of hours of gaming fun for €70 plus Warzone 2 is free to play. Nothing reprehensible and whether you need the content that comes out next year remains to be seen.
Premium release will actually have the game on the disc rather than just the launcher.
Must be following Destiny now with their full game and then expansion on top.
Weird of cuck Schrier to treat CharlieIntel like that. Considering CharlieIntel has been at the forefront of Call of Duty leaks since early MW2 (2009) days.
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