While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 may have been the lowest-rated entry in franchise history, and its initial sales were reportedly 38% lower than its predecessor, the Call of Duty franchise isn't going to start slowing down anytime soon. Though sales for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 might have been lower than past entries, that's still a hefty sum in Activision's pocket, and with Microsoft now at the helm, there's even more pressure than ever for the next few entries to return the franchise to its former glory.

Microsoft is already teasing a big Call of Duty announcement for Xbox's June 9 Showcase, and it's just confirmed that it'll be another entry in the Black Ops series. But a juggernaut annual franchise like Call of Duty doesn't just think one game at a time. According to some recent leaks, Activision might have the next six years of Call of Duty planned out already, and Modern Warfare fans could end up being pushed to the wayside.

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It Could Be a Long Time Before Another Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Release

Call of Duty Might Have The Rest of the Decade Already Planned Out

Microsoft has just confirmed that 2024's Call of Duty entry will officially be Black Ops 6, and it's set for a full reveal on June 9. While the Call of Duty franchise has seen its fair share of leaks over the years, they've been more rampant than ever before with this upcoming 2024 entry. Countless leaks over the last year or so have claimed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be set during the Gulf War and that an open-world campaign will be one of its standout features. But a handful of leaks right at the end of last year also claim that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be followed swiftly by another entry in the Black Ops series.

Following in the footsteps of 2022 and 2023's Modern Warfare double-bill, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will reportedly be followed by a sequel in 2025. According to the leaks (courtesy of Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson), this 2025 entry will act as a direct sequel to 2012's Black Ops 2, set around 2030. But those are far from the only rumors concerning Call of Duty's future plans.

Very recently, leakers Vondyispog and VISCERAL have taken to the internet to claim that 2026's Call of Duty will be helmed by Infinity Ward once again. But rather than be a sequel to last year's Modern Warfare 3, 2026's Call of Duty will reportedly be a reboot of sorts of 2013's much-maligned Call of Duty: Ghosts. This reboot will also apparently act as a prequel to the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot, likely being centered around the TF141 member Ghost. The same leakers also claimed that 2027's Call of Duty will be an Advanced Warfare reboot in a similar vein, being developed by Sledgehammer Games.

Call Of Duty: Ghosts Poster

If these leaks are true, then the next few years of Call of Duty would see two Black Ops games, a Ghosts reboot, and an Advanced Warfare reboot released by 2027. And if the current Call of Duty developer pattern continues, then it would be safe to assume that it would be Treyarch's turn once again after Sledgehammer's Advanced Warfare reboot. If this is the case, then Call of Duty fans might not see a sequel to Modern Warfare 3 until 2029 at the earliest.

Modern Warfare 3's Cliffhanger Could Lose All Meaning

While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's campaign was panned by critics and fans alike, there would be one downside to fans not seeing a continuation until 2029 at the earliest, and that's the game's cliffhanger ending. The end of Modern Warfare 3's story leaves a lot of loose threads hanging, and fans aren't likely to remember or care about those threads in five years. If this rumored Call of Duty release pattern is true, then Modern Warfare 3's cliffhanger might be better off being resolved in Warzone.