At the time of writing, there are rumors circulating that Call of Duty will be skipping a mainline release next year, instead putting out a free-to-play online title for 2023. These rumors arrive against a backdrop of walkouts at Call of Duty: Warzone primary developer Raven Software following ‘good standing’ dismissals of QA team members – i.e. staff were let go without disciplinary precedent. There have also been staff walkouts across Activision from employees demanding CEO Bobby Kotick’s removal after allegations of his misconduct and harassment came to light.
There’s also been a sense that the series is losing its commercial edge over the last few mainline releases. Sales of Vanguard were down by more than a third on 2020’s Black Ops Cold War, and looking back at its scattershot approach in recent years – remasters, battle royales, new settings, revisited ones – it seems to be experimenting with approaches to stay relevant.
