Activision chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl has confirmed that a new sub-series is on the way for Call of Duty. Modern Warfare 4 is just over a week away from launching (though campaign early access starts tomorrow) and marks the fifth straight year of either a Black Ops or Modern Warfare entry in the franchise. That looks set to change going forward.
Speaking with The Game Business, Bahl elaborated on why Activision won’t do back-to-back sequels in the same sub-series. “[The Call of Duty community] wanted something fresh, and even though there were different time settings, and ways to play the game with new features, that tonal shift is something that they were looking for. So, we’ve already stated that a future title is going to be a new sub-franchise, and we’ve already laid the groundwork.”
Last month, Black Ops developer Treyarch teased that it’s working on “something that nobody’s ever experienced before.” Meanwhile, Sledgehammer Games is reportedly in charge of 2027’s Call of Duty, which might also introduce a new sub-series for Call of Duty. The last game in the franchise to not be a Black Ops or Modern Warfare entry was 2021’s Vanguard–created by Sledgehammer. So there is precedent there for the studio.
In addition, Activision is now in charge of the Halo franchise. Xbox management is stating that a new team will be spun up for the new Halo game, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a Call of Duty studio being heavily involved.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 comes out October 23 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2. Preordering the FPS unlocks campaign early access for tomorrow, October 16, as well as the DMZ mode on October 20.
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