After a long silence, Activision now confirms the first hints about the planned expansion for Modern Warfare 2 in 2023.
As revealed back in February, Activision plans to break with Call of Duty’s annual release cycle and not release a new Call of Duty in 2023. However, as CharlieINTEL has now announced on Twitter, fans will not have to completely miss out on new content for Call of Duty.
February 8 update
Activision reaffirmed on Twitter on February 6 that the CoD community can expect a new “premium release” in the fall of 2023.
As reported by Bloomberg and their industry insider Jason Schreier, the new title is said to be a sequel to Modern Warfare 2 and will be developed by Sledgehammer Games.
Activision says there’s a “full annual premium release” in the Call of Duty franchise launching this fall. pic.twitter.com/lxI7oBDuVF
– CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) February 6, 2023
The partly contradictory reports about the size of the game and the ominous designation as a “premium release” currently leave both the community and insiders still speculating whether the planned release is a full-fledged new CoD title or merely an expansion/DLC.
Originally, Activision announced that no new Call of Duty was planned for 2023 for the first time in 17 years. If the developers stick to their statement, Modern Warfare 2 would be the first CoD game to go through a life cycle of two years.
Not unfeasible to add content to something that started off as an expansion and sell it for $60-70… either way the point is that it’s a continuation of MW2… anyway see you again at the May earnings call https://t.co/Dw3xySEVpd
– Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) February 6, 2023
CoD leaker TheGhostOfHope suspects that Activision could make more money in the long run by making a full-fledged game, making it more likely. It was he who first started rumours about the planned release of a new CoD title back in October 2022.
Original news from 17 January
Rumours confirmed
When CoD fans received the news in mid-February that Activision was not planning a new Call of Duty game for 2023, the shock and surprise was first great. For a long time, people wondered whether this also meant that no new content was planned for the coming year. CoD leaker TheGhostOfHope claimed on Twitter at the end of October that not just one, but two DLCs were planned for 2023.
While one will focus on multiplayer and bring classics like Favela, Highrise or Terminal back into the map pool, the second will deal with single player and possibly start directly at the end of the Modern Warfare 2 story.
More detailed information was apparently not available at the time of TheGhostOfHope’s tweet, but that seems to have changed now.
EXCLUSIVE: Campaign DLC to be released in late 2023 bundled with map pack I leaked previously. pic.twitter.com/clIJZeqCiZ
– Hope (@TheGhostOfHope) October 9, 2022
Although the leaker has often been correct with his assumptions in the past, he has been the only one to make the claim about a planned expansion.
Now, however, he is receiving prominent support from online magazine CharlieINTEL and industry figure Jason Schreier, who confirm his statements based on Activision’s financial reports.
premium release
Even before it became clear that Modern Warfare 2 was going to be a huge success and break records, there were plans to release additional content to replace the lack of a new Call of Duty game in 2023.
According to a financial report from Activision, the community is not to be left completely out to dry next year. A so-called “premium release” is planned, which will include content for Modern Warfare 2’s single and multiplayer.
Breaking: Activision’s new financial release seems to confirm there’s a new, full premium Call of Duty game in 2023.
“with plans for next year including the most robust Call of Duty live operations to date, the next full premium release in the blockbuster annual series.” pic.twitter.com/n0GVH1C8Wf
– CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) November 7, 2022
While the statements in Activision’s financial report are still a bit cryptic to read, insider Jason Schreier gets a bit more specific in a separate tweet and even reveals some more details about the future of Call of Duty.
Let me make this absolutely clear: The next game is coming in 2024 and is being developed by Treyarch – next year there will be a (paid) premium expansion for Modern Warfare II being developed by Sledgehammer – it’s supposed to feature lots of content! Perhaps this is what you would call a “full” release. But it’s more for MWII.
So there will indeed be no new Call of Duty in 2023, just a paid expansion released for the existing Modern Warfare 2. When exactly and how expensive this “premium release” will be, however, was not disclosed.
