A new report suggests that Activision may shift away from releasingCall of Dutygames annually in favor of a new release schedule.
For most of the franchise’s history, Activision made sure to releaseCall of Dutyevery year with the three studios Treyarch, Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer Games developing each one in rotation. However, in the aftermath of Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard, Activision is looking atslowing the paceat which the developers release eachCall of Dutytitle.
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According to a report by Bloomberg, “high-level employees at Activision” discussed changing the annual release schedule with some developers believing that such a change would be highly beneficial for both the players and the developers themselves. On the player’s end, such a change can help reduce thefranchise fatigueamong the player-base which in turn would help reinvigorate players. On the developer’s end, because they would be taking more time to develop each title, a new release schedule can reduce workloads. In addition, developers could focus on developing other titles. However, this change will most likely not happen immediately if at all.
This change could be a result of the performance ofCall of Duty: Vanguard’s performance. While the game was thebest-selling game of 2021, the article cites a 36 percent decline in sales.So even thoughVanguardwas a success in terms of general video game standards, it was a disappointment when compared to how wellCall of Dutyusually sells.
If Activision follows through with altering the release schedule, then consequently, players will no longer have aCall of Dutytitle releasing every single year. The expectation of a new game annually would be gone. However, the benefits of such a change are very strong.
If given more time to finish developing a title, developers wouldn’t just be able to work on multiple projects, but they would also have more time toiron out any problems in the current release. The series has also moved toward continually updating the games after the newest title launches. Thus, even in period of downtime between releases, players can still engage with any updates those games receive. Even though the change is not set in stone, theCall of Dutyseries is already set up to keep players satisfied in the chance that Activision chooses to make the switch.
Call of Duty: Vanguardis now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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