The full release of Call of Duty: Vanguard is fast approaching, and it's hotly anticipated by fans following its multiple early access tests. While excitement is still high for Call of Duty: Vanguard, some of the attention has already turned to the next Call of Duty game. The identity of Call of Duty 2022 is of great interest to fans of the series, as it is the first Infinity Ward entry following the successful launch of Modern Warfare. Many fans are expecting to see a sequel to the 2019 Call of Duty game, although as of yet nothing is set in stone.
Fans have good reason to be hopeful of another Modern Warfare title, though, as the return to a modern Call of Duty setting was long-awaited and well-received. It marked seemingly the end of Call of Duty’s experimental period of futuristic settings, and the introduction of a new era of Call of Duty, characterized by Call of Duty Warzone’s free-to-play live service format. Modern Warfare also saw the introduction of Infinity Ward’s new engine, which provided a more grounded, realistic feel. The reception of Modern Warfare across the board bodes well for a potential sequel in 2022, and fans may have recently received their first insight into this title.
What is Call of Duty 2022?
While the next Call of Duty title to release is known to be Call of Duty: Vanguard, fans already have some idea of what Call of Duty 2022 has in store. As the Call of Duty series now works in a three-yearly cycle, fans know that the developer of Call of Duty 2022 will be Infinity Ward, after a two year Hiatus and games from Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Modern Warfare was a successful release for the series and made use of IW engine version 8.0, which was brand new in 2019. Modern Warfare’s new engine divided opinion somewhat, but the bulk of players were impressed enough that Call of Duty: Vanguard will also be making use of Modern Warfare’s engine. Given these details, it was always likely that Infinity Ward would continue the Modern Warfare series, and continue the use of the new engine.
Recent leaks from reputable insider Tom Henderson have given fans a vague outline of what Call of Duty 2022 has in store. For starters, there are no surprises as far as the direction of the series is concerned as Call of Duty 2022 will continue the Modern Warfare namesake, reportedly being titled Modern Warfare II. Henderson has also claimed that Modern Warfare 2022s story will center around fighting drug cartels as part of Task Force 141. This opens up the series to explore different directions, with Modern Warfare notably centering around a conflict with Russia, primarily fought in the fictional country of Urzikstan. With the drug cartel storyline, CoD fans may be hopeful of the return of Modern Warfare 2s classic map, Favela, which would make a lot of sense given the game's reported setting.
The Return of Modern Warfare 2
Much like the original Modern Warfare, the sequel, Modern Warfare 2 was much loved by Call of Duty fans. While it was released almost 12 years ago, it’s still fresh in the minds of many Call of Duty fans. For this reason, Call of Duty 2022's title may be slightly confusing to long term fans of the series. While Modern Warfare was already a surprising title, many fans avoid confusion by referring to the original Modern Warfare as CoD 4. With Modern Warfare 2, there isn’t really an alternative title to distinguish between new and old. It appears that Infinity Ward's way to avoid this confusion is to use roman numerals, which may not suffice.
To add to the confusion, Modern Warfare 2s campaign was remastered recently, which may make differentiating between the two games difficult for newer players. Some Call of Duty fans had hoped to see Modern Warfare 2s multiplayer remastered, but with Call of Duty 2022s title, that now seems unlikely. Instead, a continuation of the more realistic Modern Warfare rebooted series is likely to take precedence. Nevertheless, the modernized reboot of the Modern Warfare series will appeal to plenty of fans of the original Modern Warfare games.
Call of Duty’s Yearly Release Schedule
In the old days of Call of Duty, Treyarch used to offer Call of Duty titles from different time periods, while Infinity Ward would focus on games set in the modern day. The cycle worked well and gave Call of Duty fans a variety in choice. Fans of historical shooters could choose from some of Treyarch’s games, in World at War and Black Ops, while fans who preferred a more contemporary shooter could play the Modern Warfare series. While that trend ended with Black Ops 2 and saw the series take a more futuristic approach, it appears that it has been revived as of late.
The two games releasing prior to Call of Duty 2022s release are Call of Duty: Vanguard, and Black Ops Cold War. Each of these games has a historical setting, with Cold War being set in the early 80s, while Vanguard has a traditional World War 2 setting. This is great from the perspective of offering a variety in choice, as players have three different settings to choose from in the past two Call of Duty games along with the upcoming release of Vanguard. But following Vanguard’s release, it is time to reset the cycle and offer fans of a modern setting something new to play. Modern Warfare’s battlepass and content drops had provided fans with new content to keep the game feeling fresh, but the content drops have become a whole lot more sporadic over the last year, and that’s unlikely to improve once Vanguard drops.
For fans of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, a new game needs to be right around the corner. Fans have experienced more historical takes on the Call of Duty franchise recently, and have eagerly awaited the sequel to Modern Warfare 2019. While Modern Warfare still feels like a modern game, fans will have played the game to death at this point and will be ready to upgrade to the sequel. Given the success of the 2019 game, it makes sense that a follow-up would be Infinity Ward's next move.
Call of Duty 2022 is currently in development.