It's that time of year again. The marketing for Call of Duty 2022 is beginning its soft first touches, as is normal any time the prior year's entry has been on the market for a few months. While February is a bit sooner than fans might have expected, developer Infinity Ward has dropped its first tease indicating that a new Call of Duty game is on its way.
Over on Twitter, Infinity Ward's official account stated, quite simply, that "a new generation of Call of Duty is coming soon." The account further urged fans to "stay frosty," meaning to keep their eyes and ears open for more information about the next Call of Duty game. Of course, while there's little to go off of here, fans are still speculating about what's to come.
For the most part, fans are expecting to see Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, a follow-up to the 2019 reboot of the subseries. Given how the subseries cycle typically runs, it's certainly the most likely answer that's circulated, and it lines up with other rumors about where the series is headed. Warzone has introduced a steady stream of characters likely to appear in Modern Warfare 2, so it's difficult to imagine Infinity Ward abandoning those threads.
https://twitter.com/infinityward/status/1489346822208249861
That's especially true because of Call of Duty Vanguard's relatively poor performance. While it was still the best-selling game of 2021, Vanguard saw a dip in sales versus its predecessor, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War. It's possible that Infinity Ward could throw a curveball and release something unexpected, but given its negative press lately, Activision likely wants a guaranteed hit.
There is, however, one more thing to consider when it comes to Infinity Ward's tease. Rumors have circulated about a potential Call of Duty Warzone 2, which could debut at some point this year. It's been nearly two years now since the first iteration was released, so it seems likely that fans could get a new version. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but Warzone is a consistent money-maker, and it's about time for an updated version to support future integrations.
In the meantime, fans will have to sit and wait for more news. Historically, Call of Duty games have been fully revealed in May, though last year's entry took far longer than usual. With its relative underperformance, though, Activision may want to do a reveal a bit earlier than normal to start building excitement for it.
The next Call of Duty is confirmed to be in development.