Summary
At this point, a newCall of Dutygame each year is entirely unsurprising. For almost two decades now, a new entry in the shooter series has been something that gamers can set a watch by. Every fall, usually in the first two weeks of November, a newCoDgame comes. Usually, franchise fans will be treated to an entry from one of a fewCall of Dutysubseries each year, but 2023’s entry will break this tradition. Last year saw the release ofModern Warfare2, helmed by Infinity Ward, and this year will see the release ofModern Warfare 3, helmed by Sledgehammer, meaning the end of Sledgehammer’s own uniqueCoDgames could be here.
When the average gamer thinks aboutCall of Duty, they likely think ofModern WarfareorBlack Ops, the two most prominent lines of games in the franchise. In the past, however, these games have been broken up by entries from Sledgehammer, such asAdvanced Warfare,WWII, andVanguard. While these entries are lesser known, typically sell less, and have sometimes proven controversial, they’re also brief but valuable changes of pace from the iterative nature of the other long-running series within the franchise.Sledgehammer Games’CoDentries were the least predictable and offered the most variety, even if they didn’t enjoy the same critical acclaim as more well-known games in the series.
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Rumors Suggest That Modern Warfare 3 Is The Start of A New Release Cycle
Leaks and rumors claim thatCall of Duty2024 will be a Treyarch-developedBlack Opsgame focusing on the Gulf War.Call of Duty2025is rumored to be likeModern Warfare 3: a new campaign mode coupled with an updated version of the previous year’s multiplayer mode with a remastered set of maps. If leaks are to be believed, 2025’sCoDwill feature remastered maps fromBlack Ops 2, and, likeModern Warfare 3, will be developed by Sledgehammer Games. This suggests thatCall of Duty’s series will work on a two-year cycle and that Sledgehammer Games will now be helming these second-year iterations of each series rather than developing unique titles.
While there is still time for these plans to change, especially when considering how controversialModern Warfare 3’s remastered mapshave been, Activision relegating Sledgehammer Games to working on more iterative titles makes sense.Call of Duty: Vanguardwas received relatively poorly, and previous games from Sledgehammer have failed to capture the hearts of fans in the way thatBlack OpsandModern Warfarehave. While it makes sense as a business move, it means that theCoDstudio that has historically made the most distinctive games will no longer make unique projects.
Zombies Could Carry On Sledgehammer’s Legacy
While Sledgehammer Games seemingly won’t be working on uniqueCoDtitles anymore, that doesn’t mean that some of its innovations won’t appear in new games.Modern Warfare 3’s Zombies modeseems to draw inspiration from Sledgehammer’s Exo Zombies mode inAdvanced Warfare. This year’s Zombies mode also notably differs from previous iterations, featuring an open world and a large player count. On top of this, Zombies mode has typically been restricted toBlack Opsand has never appeared in aModern Warfaretitle before. While it is sad that Sledgehammer won’t be developing WWII games or other unique titles, it seems that its take onCall of Duty’s other series may still take risks and introduce content that is a break from what gamers expect in Treyarch and Infinity WardCoDtitles.
While the new release cycle makes sense from a business perspective, it will be truly sad if it marks the end of Sledgehammer’s WWII games or its other offshoots of theCoDfranchise.Call of Dutyis a notoriously predictable series, and reducing itself to justModern WarfareandBlack Opswill only make the series more predictable. In spite of this, there is the chance that Sledgehammer will make these series weirder, and having another studio working on them could help to address some ofthe problems with modernCall of Dutygames.
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