by Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard says the annualized franchise will see a “full premium release” in 2023.
During its third quarter 2022 results, Activision Blizzard wrote about Call of Duty heading into next year, revealing that the company has plans for “the most robust Call of Duty live operations yet. , the next full premium version of the hit annual series, and even more captivating free experiences across all platforms.”
However, it’s unclear if that means an all-new game or higher-priced content for this year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier addressed Activision Blizzard’s wording, saying the “premium full version” that Activision Blizzard is talking about is “a continuation of Modern Warfare II. It’s called a premium full version because they’ll probably market and sell it as a $70 game with new single and multiplayer content. But it’s more MWII.”
Man lol you keep falling in love with the same PR language. It is the sequel to Modern Warfare II. It’s called a full premium version because they’ll likely market and sell it as a $70 game with new single and multiplayer content. But it’s more MWII
—Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 7, 2022
Schreier also clarified his knowledge of the upcoming Call of Duty timeline. According to Schreier, 2023 will see a paid premium expansion of Modern Warfare 2 from Sledgehammer, which should have a lot of content. Apparently, the size of the expansion is what might justify Activision’s “premium full version” phrasing. Next, Schreier claims that the next Call of Duty entry will come from Treyarch in 2024.
Officially, Call of Duty 2023 has not been delayed. In a statement to IGN earlier this year, Activision said, “We have an exciting slate of premium and free Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year and beyond. Reports on anything else are incorrect. We look forward to sharing more details when the time is right.”
Activision Blizzard revenue decline
Elsewhere, the company also reported that its revenue fell nearly $300 million year-over-year from the third quarter of 2021, and points the blame to 2021’s Call of Duty: Vanguard. quarter of 2021, the company’s net revenue was $2.07 billion, compared to $1.78 billion in the third quarter of 2022.
Activision Blizzard wrote that the decline in financial performance was due to “reduced engagement for Call of Duty following weaker reception of last year’s premium release”. The company expects to see an improvement for the rest of 2022, thanks to the strong start to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Modern Warfare 2, which just became the fastest Call of Duty game to cross the billion-dollar mark sold, is also a big hit on PC. Activison Blizzard said Modern Warfare 2’s PC sales were about double the level of “strong recent titles in the series”. The game also sets franchise records for engagement, with hours played in the first 10 days over 40% higher than the previous record.
Vanguard’s comparative sales difficulties when pitted against the rest of the franchise have been well documented. Even though it was the best-selling game of 2021, Activision Blizzard was unhappy with its performance, stating that “the game’s World War II setting didn’t resonate with some members. of our community”.
For more on Call of Duty, find out why the franchise’s future on PlayStation is secure, according to Xbox’s Phil Spencer.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of gaming industry experience with signings at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
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