Ongoing Operations
According to murmurs circulating the information superhighway this week, Activision might be considering eschewing its annual Call of Duty release in 2023, and is instead looking into the potential of instead releasing a DLC expansion for this year’s entry, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
The speculative news comes from regular Call of Duty leaker TheGhostofHope, who posted the proposal on their Twitter account this past weekend. According to TheGhost, Activision will instead use 2023 to boost the content of 2021’s release, adding new campaign missions, and a 20th anniversary “Best of” map pack, featuring revamped multiplayer maps from the billion-dollar shooter’s storied history.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier would offer his own corroboration of the news a day later, suggesting that the paid DLC expansion for Modern Warfare II would replace the launch of another series sequel. While Schreier notes that they themselves are unsure as to the expansion’s contents, he does speculate that Activision would eventually release a brand new sequel in the fall of 2024.
Call of Duty games, provided that they are decent entries, do have incredible longevity, despite the regular releases. Just last month I dived back into my recent favorite, 2020’s Black Ops Cold War, to find packed lobbies and busy-busy playlists still readily available, despite the title having been superseded by 2021’s Call of Duty: Vanguard, and the ongoing success of battle royale spin-off Call of Duty Warzone.
Thus, provided that Modern Warfare II delivers a solid experience, Activision could easily rake in big money from releasing a meaty expansion pack over developing an entirely new release from scratch. This approach could affect the bottom line somewhat, but the loss would likely be offset in the DLC’s development, which would be understandably cheaper than producing a full game. Importantly, this approach might also reduce the workload on MWII‘s developer, Infinity Ward. This in itself is enough to warrant the experiment. No doubt the sales of MWII will, ultimately, make or break this decision.
Look, just let me play Nicki Minaj in multiplayer, that’s all I’m in for.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II launches October 28 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms.
