In a statement during its Q2 2022 earnings report, Activision said, “Across the Call of Duty ecosystem, the teams are well positioned to support these launches with substantial live operations, while also continuing development of new premium content planned for 2023 and beyond.”
Over on Twitter Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier said, “For 2023 I’d expect new paid (“premium”) content for Modern Warfare 2, not a brand new Call of Duty. Treyarch is leading the next mainline game, which was delayed to 2024, as Bloomberg reported earlier this year.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is scheduled to launch on October 28 and will likely increase engagement in the series. If everything goes to plan, the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is also expected to be finalized next year after it’s approved by various government regulatory bodies across the world.
In other FPS news, an update for Battlefield 2042. Version 1.2 of the game includes bug fixes, balance changes and quality of life improvements. Possibly the biggest part of this update is the first of DICE’s planned reworks for 2042’s launch maps Kaleidoscope. According to the patch notes, this map now features improved gameplay flow with new cover assets, flag positions, terrain elevations and visual changes.
Update 1.2 also introduces the game’s new revised art direction for its Specialists in order to help them feel more a part of the gritty 2042 game world. Other changes include: a player profile and statistics page are now available, aim assist on controllers feels smoother and more consistent and a couple weapons have been tweaked.