Call Of Duty Will Release Premium Content in 2023

In Activision Blizzard’s earnings release, new updates were given on the plans for Call of Duty in 2023. It is confirmed that premium content will be released in 2023, but that does not mean a new game will come out next year. A major update could be planned for Modern Warfare 2 next year, and it could be paid DLC.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• Call of Duty has moved to a 2-year schedule for 2023, meaning no new game will release next year
• Premium content for MW2 will release instead, including campaign and multiplayer content
• The next COD title will be from Treyarch and release in 2024 
  

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The details were given in a press release following ATVI’s earnings report this evening. 

Activision reports, 

• “Since its October 28 launch, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has set new records for our largest franchise, becoming the fastest premium Call of Duty release to cross $1 billion in sell-through. Sales have been robust across all platforms, including on PC, where unit sell-through to date is approximately twice the level of recent strong titles in the series. Modern Warfare II has set new franchise engagement records for a premium Call of Duty release, with hours played in the first 10 days more than 40% above the prior franchise record.

• On November 16, alongside the first season of in-game content for Modern Warfare II, Activision will release Call of Duty: Warzone™ 2.0. This all-new, free-to-play Call of Duty experience encompasses a wide array of learnings gained from the highly successful original Warzone. Tightly integrated with the premium game, Warzone 2.0 extends the Modern Warfare universe while bringing compelling new sandbox experiences to the franchise from day one, with further exciting content planned for the coming months.

• In the third quarter, Activision also unveiled Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile^TM, planned for full release in 2023. Internally developed on the same engine as Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0, the game will offer our community compelling battle royale gameplay on mobile as well as shared social features and cross-progression with the console and PC experiences. Over 20 million people have already pre-registered for the game on Google Play.

• Following a three-year period in which Call of Duty reached well over half a billion players and delivered a step change increase in engagement and player investment, these launches mark the start of a new era intended to take the franchise to new heights. 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.” 

It may seem like this means a full new title release of a new COD title in 2023, but this may not be the case.  According to gaming insider Jason Schreier, the premium content will be an update for MW2, including paid campaign and multiplayer DLC.

Man lol you keep falling for the same PR language. It's a continuation of Modern Warfare II. It's called a full premium release because they're probably going to market and sell it as a $70 game with new single- and multiplayer content. But it's more MWII

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 7, 2022

Let me make this super clear:
– The next game, by Treyarch, is coming out in 2024
– Next year there will be a Modern Warfare II "premium" (paid) expansion by Sledgehammer
– It's supposed to have lots of content! Maybe that's why they call it a "full" release. But it's more MWII https://t.co/jXKAiMFcTf

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 7, 2022

This paid DLC would include a new campaign, as well as a large number of multiplayer maps. Reportedly, Activision is planning to release all of 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 maps by 2023. If this is true, it could make for a large DLC package and could command a high price.

The last time a Call of Duty game had this type of paid DLC content was 2017’s COD WWII. No Call of Duty title has paid DLC content in the past. Campaign DLC for Modern Warfare 2 was teased at the end of the single-player campaign.

Activision abandoned the yearly release due to the short time between titles, and due to the fact that Black Ops: Cold War and Vanguard did not receive a traditional 3-year development cycle. Call of Duty titles are developed by 3 main studios, Treyarch, Sledgehammer, and Infinity Ward.

A game is traditionally released every year, rotating between the 3 studios. Due to internal delays, Cod titles for 2020-21 were developed in a shorter timeframe than usual. 

Call of Duty titles usually have one year of content, including cosmetics and battle passes. When a new title launches content starts to dwindle for a month or two.

COD Modern Warfare 2 is the best-selling Call of Duty game of all time. It would be smart for Activision to continue the life of the game, and give its future titles more time in development. 

The next mainline COD title will be from Treyarch and will release in 2024. Rumors have arisen in the past about the game is set during the Iraq War. Other rumors speculate it could be a futuristic title, a possible Black Ops II sequel. We will have to wait and see. 

Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0 will be the mainline COD titles for the foreseeable future.