New reports claim Activision is set to release a full standalone Call of Duty game in 2023 after all, and fans of the legendary first-person shooter series are not happy.
Generally, you would think fans of a series would be happy to hear a new installment is on the way, but that’s far from the case for Call of Duty fans right now. A report from Inside Gaming’s Tom Henderson on Feb. 9 revealed that a “full premium standalone release” would arrive in 2023, complete with a beta and early campaign access.
This news came as a major surprise to the CoD community, as early reports suggested the next full title in the series would come in 2024, developed by Treyarch. Instead, Modern Warfare 2 would instead receive a major DLC pack developed by Sledgehammer Games this year, complete with new multiplayer maps and single-player content.
Now, it seems that will no longer be the case, with Sledgehammer seemingly set to release a full game heavily connected to the Modern Warfare universe.
This has left CoD fans frustrated, with many claiming they will refuse to buy the next title in the series as they had only purchased the game based on the fact they would be playing it for two years.
“That’s actually upsetting considering the main reason I bought MW2 was under the promise that this would be the only CoD for at least two years,” wrote one user on the Modern Warfare 2 subreddit. “What’s even more concerning is how lackluster this MP has been this year with the only excuse being ‘It’s a two-year drip, that’s why the content is coming out slow.'”
Others simply commented that they were “done with CoD,” and wouldn’t be purchasing the game at all. Some were also rallying fans in an attempt to force Activision to change course, writing: “If ya’ll want change, DON’T. BUY. THIS.”
Despite clear frustrations from the community about the state of the series, Modern Warfare 2 was a huge success, with Activision saying the game “delivered the highest opening-quarter sell-through in franchise history,” in its fourth-quarter financial report.
Of course, plans could still change, as neither Activision nor Sledgehammer have confirmed they’re releasing a standalone Call of Duty title this year. The next major content drop for the series comes on Feb. 15, when Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 season two begins.
