Full release or pricey DLC?
Sledgehammer Games’ next Call of Duty project has recently become something of a Schrödinger’s Cat, with two sides – Activision and Kotaku’s Jason Schreier – giving conflicting reports on whether the game is coming this year as a full-fledged mainline title or as “premium DLC” for the already existing Modern Warfare II. Nonetheless, Insider Gaming recently reported that Call of Duty is indeed coming as a full game this year, and provided clarification on key dates related to the project.
According to Schreier’s previous report, Sledgehammer Games’ next Call of Duty project was initially planned to be a major paid expansion for Modern Warfare II. Meanwhile, Treyarch, the developer behind Call of Duty Black Ops, was said to be preparing for its next big project in 2024. However, Insider Gaming claims that this direction has since changed, with Sledgehammer Games’ project currently shifting to a full standalone release. There are no further details on the project, its title, or reveal date at this time, although it is rumored to have strong ties to the Modern Warfare franchise.
While some of Schreier’s reports may conflict with Insider Gaming’s sources, the latter corroborates the information that Sledgehammer Games is indeed a developer on the next Call of Duty project. That said, they understand that the game is a large-scale collaboration between all of Activision’s Call of Duty studios, rather than a solo effort by one studio. In addition, Insider Gaming claims to have received information about the roadmap leading up to release, which will apparently include an early access campaign period, two beta weeks, and a full marketing strategy similar to past premium releases.
Call of Duty 2023 will supposedly be available on current generation platforms like PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, as well as previous generation consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Insider Gaming claims that the first beta weekend will take place from October 6th to 10th and will only be available on PlayStation platforms, while the second beta from October 12th to 16th will be supported on all platforms. The outlet also claims that early access will begin on November 2nd for PlayStation consoles, followed by a full multi-platform release on November 10th.
