Call of Duty he is not going through his best moment. First, there is the decline of war zone, mainly caused by the negative reception of Caldera, the map that replaced Verdansk. On the other hand, we have the criticisms leveled at Vanguard, without forgetting that their sales were below expectations. It is not an issue to be taken lightly in a franchise that often has stratospheric revenues. These situations, of course, set off alarms at Activision.
The specific case of Vanguard it was seen coming. Why? Most expected the Call of Duty of 2021 was the sequel to Modern Warfare. However, the company surprised us with a proposal that, against all odds, returned to World War II. The problem is that Activision had not realized, as incredible as it may seem, that your community is already tired of the aforementioned historical conflict.
The reasons are obvious: World War II does not lend itself too much to offer novelties in terms of gameplay and even narrative. When a shooter set in these events is about to see the light, we all know what we can expect from it, and with Call of Duty: Vanguard was no exception. Modern or futuristic wars, on the contrary, offer a greater scope to propose new things.
Despite the above, Activision, in the hands of Sledgehammer Games, once again bet on World War II. We all know the result: Vanguard it was a big disappointmentone that even harmed war zone because both shared the same war scenario. However, it was the drop in sales that really encouraged the company to react.
this very week, Activision acknowledged that Call of Duty: Vanguard did not meet your expectations; neither economic nor in the opinions of the public. The most interesting thing is that, after a long time, Activision discovered that its community is fed up with the aforementioned global confrontation.
“Vanguard did not meet our expectations. We believe that it was mainly due to our own execution,” they mentioned in their annual financial report for 2021 (via Kotaku). In addition, they added that they did not “offer as much innovation” as they would have liked. The company finishes off its statement by acknowledging what is already obvious: “The World War II scenario did not resonate with a part of our community”. Better late than never…
Although they did not mention what their future plans are in relation to World War II, the strong statements of Activision, coupled with key decisions that were made recently, indicate to us that this conflict will take a long break in Call of Duty. For starters, the next installment in the franchise will be the widely anticipated Modern Warfare 2. In addition, Infinity Ward, the studio responsible for said game, is in charge of the development of war zone 2which will surely take up a scenario set in modern times.
Another crucial point, and unheard of for Call of Dutythe thing is next year the usual strategy of annual launches will be suspended. Instead, Activision will bet on keeping Modern Warfare 2 for at least two years. This important decision will allow developers enough time to deliver titles premium quality. Except for surprise, at that time Activision and Call of Duty It will be under the umbrella of Microsoft, which will not allow the franchise to collapse either.
The normal thing would be to think that, after Modern Warfare 2we will enjoy a title of the saga again black-ops in 2024 —developed by Treyarch—. If the two-year period between each release is maintained, that means that Sledgehammer Games will have their title ready in 2026. It is unlikely, however, that they will explore World War II again. Therefore, we can get used to the idea that this setting will remain far from Call of Duty for a long time.
In the midst of all these decisions, Infinity Ward continues the development of Modern Warfare 2. The game is now official and we are just waiting to know its first official details. The year before, it was leaked that Task Force 141 is going to South America to take on a Colombian drug cartel. However, there is no confirmation on this.