Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
Just over a week after 2022’s Call of Duty was confirmed, it’s being reported the series will skip 2023 entirely.
The report comes from Bloomberg, citing sources who they say are familiar with the plan. Allegedly, Activision Blizzard will press pause next year due to a recent entry failing to meet expectations. While not naming specific games, it’s believed the report is referencing Call of Duty: Vanguard which arrived in November.
The move will mark the first year without a mainstream Call of Duty release since 2004. According to the sources, the move is being made as executives think new releases are coming too rapidly. The anonymous sources also claimed the decision was not related to Activision Blizzard’s recent purchase by Microsoft last month. However, it also claims that Microsoft could change these plans after that deal is finalised, should it choose to.
There’s not been a confirmation from Activision Blizzard on the news so far. However, a spokesperson has emailed the following in a statement to Bloomberg. “We have an exciting slate of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year and beyond. We look forward to sharing more details when the time is right.”
Supposedly, the intended 2023 game was to be Treyarch’s next title in the series but there’s not been much else reported on the game other than that. Their most recent entry was 2020’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. If the rumour does turn out true, 2023 won’t be Call of Duty-less altogether, as a “new Warzone experience” set to launch alongside this year’s entry will be ongoing throughout. The report claims that Treyarch will instead help on the free-to-play title until their new game is ready.
We’ll have to wait and see how this rumour pans out.
