Following reports CoD will skip 2023, Activision says ‘premium paid content’ is coming

Activision has claimed that Call Of Duty will receive “new premium content” in 2023.

In a statement during its Q2 2022 earnings report, Activision stated that “Across the Call of Duty ecosystem, the teams are well positioned to support these launches with substantial live operations, while also continuing development of new premium content planned for 2023 and beyond.”

Activision is reportedly skipping next year’s mainline Call of Duty game, thus marking the first time in nearly 20 years it’s skipped an annual release. However, this doesn’t preclude Activision from releasing a smaller project.

This week’s statement could refer to paid DLC, something that was once a staple of the franchise but has lessened in recent years, or a spin-off game, such as the long-rumoured standalone Call of Duty Zombies game.

The next game in the mainline series, expected in 2024, is likely a Black Ops game. Images, reportedly from the game, were datamined from Warzone Mobile earlier this year. 

Activision said on Monday that its second-quarter revenue and operating income declined year-over-year, “reflecting lower engagement for the Call of Duty franchise, but grew versus the first quarter”.

Engagement can be expected to rise during the company’s fourth quarter when it plans to release two new Call of Duty games.

Activision has confirmed a Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 release date of October 28, 2022. Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 will also launch later this year.

Further reading

178

Sony says it believes Xbox owning Call of Duty ‘could influence users’ console choice’

Regulatory docs reveal the PlayStation firm’s thoughts on the Activision Blizzard acquisition

It was announced in January that Xbox owner Microsoft plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal.

In newly published documents, Sony said it believes Call of Duty could inspire users to switch to Xbox should the proposed acquisition gain regulatory approval.