Will Call of Duty no longer appear annually, but at longer intervals? According to well-known journalist Jason Schreier at Bloomberg are senior officials at Activision considering such a change in release policy.
This information is not official, but Jason Schreier is considered to be well informed and trustworthy. As is often the case with his reports, the journalist refers to anonymous insiders who are familiar with the internals.
Accordingly, new discussions are said to have arisen in high positions at Activision after the industry-changing deal with Microsoft became known. The Xbox manufacturer wants to buy Activision Blizzard for a mere 69 billion US dollars.
You can read why this is good news for us players in the column by editor Peter Bathge:
Microsoft buys Activision
It couldn’t be better for us
Is this really happening?
Such a far-reaching change in company policy is not yet certain. But Activision hopes that a slower release rhythm will help the brand become more successful in the long term. Call of Duty: Vanguard fell short of expectations. Schreier cites a 36 percent drop in UK sales compared to the 2020s Call of Duty: Cold War.
According to Schreier, if that happens, it will still take some time:
The switch may not happen until next year or later, as this year’s Call of Duty is expected to set the franchise’s fortunes back in the right direction.
Jason Schreier, Bloomberg
The next Call of Duty, which is rumored to be the successor to CoD: Modern Warfare, would not be affected by the possible change:
CoD 2022
Leaks and rumors about Modern Warfare 2
What that could mean
Activision employs the three development studios Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer and Treyarch to take turns bringing a new CoD onto the market. The annually recurring Call of Dutys are repeatedly criticized by fans.
Among other things, many players criticized the fact that the strong CoD: Modern Warfare no longer received a live service after a year. After all, the subsequent Call of Duty: Cold War had to be put in the spotlight, even if it technically lagged behind its predecessor.
There would also be more time to push innovations. Especially with CoD: Vanguard you could clearly see that it was heavily based on the technical framework of Modern Warfare.
Jason Schreier also notes that moving away from the annual rotation could also ease the pressure on developers, who are subject to high stress due to tight schedules.
How are you doing with Call of Duty? Would you wish for an end to the yearly releases or are you quite happy with the current situation?
