Like Christmas, Halloween, or Easter, every year fans can expect a new Call of Duty game. But even with this year's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War looking massive and set to release in just two weeks, there are already hints as to what 2021's Call of Duty may be.
A prominent Call of Duty leaker has posted an interesting tweet. Tom Henderson claims that 2021's Call of Duty is looking like a return to Modern Warfare yet again, something that would likely be both welcome and surprising.
The hype behind Black Ops Cold War is massive, especially after the successful beta. But Tom Henderson is already moving onto Call of Duty 2021, and according to his intel, it may be Modern Warfare 2. Infinity Ward rebooted the Modern Warfare franchise in 2019, and it has been seen as a huge success. Continuing with the rebooted series makes sense from Activision's standpoint, but it is also a bit of a surprise, as the three-team and three-year development cycle seems to have gone to the way-side.
Sledgehammer Games had become the third team working on Call of Duty games, allowing each team to have three years to make their game. Sledgehammer created Advanced Warfare, perhaps one of the more forgettable entries, but 2017's Call of Duty: World War 2 seemed to be a hit, especially with innovative ideas like the social hub. But instead of making 2020's Call of Duty, as previously planned, Sledgehammer was asked to take a back seat and Treyarch was forced to step up and make Black Ops Cold War in two years, instead of three. And now, if this rumor is true, it looks like Infinity Ward may be asked to do the same thing, and Sledgehammer will have had five years to make a Call of Duty game, if it does indeed release one in 2022.
If this rumor is true, it is also interesting for the Modern Warfare series. The reboot was a big success, as Modern Warfare became the highest-selling Call Of Duty game ever. A sequel makes perfect sense, but the name may get confusing. Activision already launched the Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remaster earlier this year, another Modern Warfare 2 would be perplexing. Perhaps Infinity Ward will take a page out of the naming convention that Treyarch just used, by subtitling the Modern Warfare games from here on out.
The Modern Warfare games have ranked high within the Call of Duty franchise, both critically and among the fans. In terms of what players enjoy, and what makes money for Activision, Modern Warfare always being in the picture may be a winning ticket. Of course, the leak by Henderson should be taken with a grain of salt. But if true, it will be interesting to see the franchise dip back into Modern Warfare again so quickly.
Call of Duty 2021 is currently in development.