Previous reports have stated that Activision was not planning to release a full Call of Duty in 2023, opting to put out a big expansion to 2022’s Modern Warfare II instead. However, a new report has stated that Activision has shifted course and is turning that expansion into its own release.
As reported on by Insider Gaming, this DLC was in the works, but the project has “changed direction” and will be a “full premium standalone release planned for 2023.” There aren’t many details, but it is expected to be heavily rooted in the Modern Warfare series, which makes sense if it was originally DLC for Modern Warfare II. It’s unconfirmed if this game will be called Modern Warfare III, though.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier has noted that this title will be led by Sledgehammer Games, and Insider Gaming extrapolated that it will be collaborative project like other Call of Duty games. Given their frequency, size, and the number of developers listed on each entry, this all lines up. Sledgehammer Games has led Advanced Warfare, WWII, and Vanguard in the past.
Schreier also tweeted after this latest report noting that Treyarch’s game was planned for 2023, but was delayed to 2024 (which he previously reported). This then led to Activision wanting to “fill in the blanks” with more Modern Warfare II content, which spun into its own release. He then said he’d try to answer the question regarding how this 2023 game’s multiplayer maps will interact with Modern Warfare II‘s maps, if they do at all since it is unclear if the multiplayer portions will be part of the same pool.
Insider Gaming’s report is a follow-up to a statement Activision made recently and just after Modern Warfare II‘s launch where the company said it was putting out a “full annual premium release.” This conflicted with prior reporting and implied that Activision was speaking very highly of DLC or it had changed its plans. This latest Insider Gaming report and added note from Schreier heavily suggests it was the latter.
Insider Gaming also stated that this 2023 installment will have two betas and an early access period for the campaign (as was the case for Modern Warfare II in both instances). It’s also slated to release on the last generation of consoles as well as the current batch of systems just like Modern Warfare II.
The outlet noted that it already has beta, early access, and full release dates floating around internally. Its first beta will allegedly go live on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on October 6 and run until October 10 before coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on October 12 and going until October 16. The campaign’s early access is also reportedly scheduled for November 2 while the full release is November 10.
However, it’s unclear when the game will actually be revealed. Modern Warfare II was announced in May 2022, properly revealed in June 2022, and came out in October 2022. Given how closely the two seem to mirror each other, it’s possible this unnamed entry will echo some of those patterns.
