A new leak from a trusted industry insider has made some bold claims surrounding 2027’s Call of Duty entry, stating that the Sledgehammer Games-developed title will be an entirely new sub-series featuring no Zombies mode, Treyarch’s omnimovement system, and no tactical sprint. Although the latest Call of Duty game has only just been released, there have already been numerous leaks regarding the next two years’ worth of titles, as publisher Activision looks to be shaking up the franchise in a major way.
On November 14, Activision and developer Treyarch Studios attempted to continue to ride the high of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 with yet another entry in the sub-series, Black Ops 7. While its predecessor received rave reviews and became the biggest Call of Duty launch of all time in 2024, this year has been a drastic shift. While there aren’t any official sales numbers, analysts have theorized that Black Ops 7‘s launch has underperformed compared to past installments. Despite Treyarch giving fans everything they could ask for, including the removal of skill-based matchmaking, classic three-lane maps, less unrealistic skins, and more, fans appear to be burnt out on the series, resulting in a highly lackluster launch for Black Ops 7.
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With the community’s interest seemingly at an all-time low for new Call of Duty games, Activision recently announced a major mix-up to the series’ release strategy moving forward. Last week, the publisher revealed that it will no longer be doing back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games. This decision comes after four years of no new sub-series, with the last being Call of Duty: Vanguard in 2021. Activision said the reasons for this decision “are many,” but that the main one is to ensure it provides an “absolutely unique experience” every year. Now, just days after this announcement, a new leak claims 2027 will finally see the series shift away from Modern Warfare and Black Ops.
Call of Duty 2027 Will Reportedly Be a New Sub-Series
Industry insider TheGhostOfHope, who has been regularly leaking Call of Duty details for years now, has made some big claims about the 2027 entry in the franchise. According to Hope, the title will be a new sub-series developed by Sledeghammer Games, the studio behind 2023’s Modern Warfare 3, Vanguard, and many more. It has been claimed that the studio will be creating completely new characters for the game and that it will be set in the late 1990s/early 2000s. As for the game’s Multiplayer, the leaker states that the omnimovement system from Black Ops 6 and 7 will be featured, and that there will be no tac sprint.
Another big bombshell dropped by the insider is that Sledgehammer currently has no plans to develop a Zombies mode for the 2027 entry, but claims the popular Get High mode will return. While Zombies was once a staple of the Black Ops sub-series, it has been featured in five out of the last six Call of Duty games, with Treyarch Studios (the original creators of the mode) often supporting other studios. When asked by a user if Sledgehammer is aware just how big of a deal it will be to not include Zombies in the 2027 release, Hope theorizes that it is likely because Activision doesn’t want to “burn out” Treyarch after releasing back-to-back Black Ops entries.
Although these leaks suggest 2027 will finally see the franchise move away from Modern Warfare and Black Ops, it looks like the same can’t be said for 2026. According to a separate leak from TheGhostOfHope, Call of Duty 2026 will be Modern Warfare 4, developed by Infinity Ward. However, the leaker had a much more negative stance on next year’s entry, claiming it will be “a complete copy” of Modern Warfare 2 (2022), except without a perk-charging system and fewer aim-down-sights/slide penalties. Although the second installment in the Modern Warfare reboot received generally favorable reviews from critics, its Multiplayer was blasted by players due to the slower movement and other questionable design choices, such as the lack of red dots on the minimap when enemies fire their weapons.
