Following months of rumours, Activision – still reeling from shocking reports it fostered a company culture where sexual harassment, assault, and inappropriate behaviour were able to thrive – has confirmed this year’s Call of Duty game will be a sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare.
Development will, according to an announcement buried at the bottom of Call of Duty’s most recent community update, be handled by long-time Call of Duty studio Infinity Ward. The developer is also said to be working on a new Warzone “experience”, both being designed together and both built from the “ground up” using a new engine.
The announcement of a new Warzone was also expected – Bloomberg reported a follow-up to the Call of Duty themed Battle Royale experience was in the works several weeks ago – but it remains a curious proposition. It is, after all, rare that free-to-play live service games – designed to be long-term investments for players – get sequels, and even rarer for it to happen barely two years into the first game’s life.
Exactly how this new Warzone will ultimately present itself – as an entirely self-contained sequel or as a continuation of the original game, with player progress being carried over – remains uncertain, with Activision only saying it would bring a “massive evolution of Battle Royale with all-new playspace and a new sandbox mode.”