The yearly cycle of Call of Duty has always been a main focal point of the community. Fans are routinely speculating for certain studios to take certain approaches, whether that be trying new things or returning to a crowd favorite.
As of January 2024, the most recent installment in the series is 2023’s Modern Warfare 3, a reboot/sequel of the original MW3 from 2011. But while fans are eagerly anticipating more news about the series’ 2024 installment, there’s also some information about games even further down the lines.
Here’s what we know about all the upcoming releases for the Call of Duty franchise.
Call of Duty 2024: Treyarch at the helm, heading back to Black Ops
While MW3 is more of an extension of the 2022 MW2 release, the next installment in the series appears to be a fully flushed-out “premium” game in 2024 that returns to the Treyarch-developed Black Ops series for the first time since 2020.
Given the focus on plot and narrative in previous Black Ops games, and how poorly the MW3 campaign was received, the single-player story of the next CoD is on everyone’s mind. The next CoD will reportedly be set in the Gulf War, “with a strong focus on the CIA,” according to Insider Gaming. The next game will reportedly feature traditional Black Ops-era weaponry and gadgets, the return of round-based Zombies gameplay, and classic Black Ops maps.
Call of Duty 2025: Futuristic Black Ops 2
The 2025 release will reportedly remain in the Black Ops series but will serve as a direct sequel to 2012’s Black Ops II. The sequel will reportedly feature a story set in 2030 that picks up from the ending of the original BO2, which coincidentally ended in 2025.
The new, futuristic Black Ops 2 will reportedly feature remastered maps from the original as well as some new ones. Reports suggest the developers want to consider the 2025 game a completely new game than the reported 2024 Black Ops title to avoid similar player sentiments toward MW3, with many considering the most recently released CoD a dressed-up expansion.
Call of Duty 2026: More Modern Warfare
Infinity Ward will reportedly be heading up the development of the 2026 release, which is supposedly returning to the Modern Warfare era. Infinity Ward led the development of both the first and second new Modern Warfare titles and assisted Sledgehammer with MW3.
Call of Duty 2027: Back to Sledgehammer
Sledgehammer is reportedly back at the helm for the 2027 installment, but that game is very much still in early development with almost nothing known about it. Sledgehammer released the most recent entry in MW3, but the company was reportedly tasked at first with making a large, premium expansion for MW2 before being forced to pivot it into a full, standalone release within a record-short development window.
