Activision may be close to breaking a decades-old tradition by investing in a direct sequel to its flagship game series. Rumors aired this week indicate that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III will be released in 2023, with development by the hands of Sledgehammer Games and even a new map in the Warzone.
The information was published by journalist Tom Henderson, from the Insider Gaming website, and would be an evolution of what other reports already called “premium DLC”. Activision would have been so pleased with the outcome of the previous game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IIwhich would have started work on a major expansion of the title, which would now be promoted to a full game.
It is a break from tradition since, as said, the franchise usually maintains its subfranchises in biannual periods, allowing the maintenance of the studios. It was like this with this series, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare arriving in 2019 to receive continuation only in 2022; now, however, that cycle would be modified, with the core of development moving from Infinity Ward to Sledgehammer.
Among the details, what is usually expected from a new Call of Duty, with campaign and multiplayer integrated, in addition to a new Zombies mode, which would be called Outbreak 2.0. Here, the idea of releasing this portion of the game for free would still be under study, in an attempt to repeat the success of Warzone.
Speaking of which, by the way, this is where the rumors get crazier. According to Henderson, Activision would be working on a drastic change in the game’s map, which would reflect the Las Almas scenario, seen in Modern Warfare II. The first season of this new phase would arrive in early December, while the new game itself would be released in November.
Other dates also appear in the Insider Gaming report, such as Beta tests scheduled for October and early access to the campaign for those who pre-order the game in early November. In addition, Activision would be taking this opportunity to land once again on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, in addition to the already awaited PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.
Activision, of course, has not commented on the matter and, for now, has not spoken at this year’s Call of Duty. The company, meanwhile, will be at Summer Game Fest, the highlight of the announcement season scheduled for June, in the vacuum of E3. The expectation is that the first information will appear there.
