Activision is actively developing a new Call of Duty subfranchise, suggesting it is ready to move on from Black Ops and Modern Warfare for the time being.
In a new interview with The Game Business, Activision's Chief Marketing Officer, Tyler Bahl, confirmed that one of its studios is developing a new Call of Duty subfranchise. Although Bahl didn't state which studio is making it or when it would release, it is widely believed this will be the next game from Sledgehammer Games, expected to release next year. He also noted that Modern Warfare 4 will conclude the story that Infinity Ward has been telling since 2019, but suggested that universe could continue in the future with certain characters.
However, Activision believes the path forward for Call of Duty is less about leaning on legacy franchises and familiar faces, and more about innovation.
“Where we go with future games, we have to innovate," said Bahl. "What we heard from the audience is they want new or better or different. The landscape is changing right under our feet. You’re seeing new games being built overnight, and you’re seeing tastes change and how people want to play.”
These comments have led to all kinds of speculation about where the next Call of Duty game will go. Will they try to go into the future? The far-flung past? What kind of mechanic can they introduce to make it feel fresh without changing things up too much? Well, a rumor from Call of Duty leaker TheGhostofHope in 2025 may provide some insight, assuming it pans out.
The rumor suggests that Sledgehammer's next game will have a focus on martial arts, with karate kicks and karate chops. It's possible that Sledgehammer is trying to lean into John Wick's gun-fu combat, which mixes satisfying gunplay with fluid, flashy close-quarters combat. That seems more doable for a third-person game with a heavy emphasis on animations, but a first-person, fast-paced, competitive game may have a harder time implementing that kind of gameplay. If it works out, it could be really compelling, though.
Interestingly enough, Sledgehammer Games really began its tenure as a Call of Duty team by trying to innovate. The studio was built with the expectation that it would develop a third-person Call of Duty game set in the Vietnam War, attempting to leverage the team's experience on games like Dead Space to create a new kind of Call of Duty experience. That project was eventually killed as Sledgehammer was pulled in to help develop the original Modern Warfare 3 after Infinity Ward imploded.
Still, Sledgehammer tried to innovate again with its first solo title, Advanced Warfare. The game introduced exosuits, allowing players to jump, dash, and slide thanks to enhanced movement mechanics. It was a radical leap for Call of Duty, though fans largely rejected attempts to take the franchise into the future. Since then, Sledgehammer has played it fairly safe with two World War 2 games and a different game that also happened to be titled Modern Warfare 3, ironically enough.
Whether Sledgehammer Games can make something to excite fans again remains to be seen, but it'll be nice to have a non-MW or Black Ops game for the first time in more than five years.