Activision wants a new Call of Duty sub-series after years of Black Ops and Modern Warfare

• The company does not want to keep releasing back-to-back sequels within the same Call of Duty line.
• The reporting points to five years in which Call of Duty was largely centered on Black Ops and Modern Warfare.

What happened

According to GameSpot and The Game Business, Activision executive Tyler Bahl said the company had already indicated that a future Call of Duty title would be a new sub-franchise. The reporting also says the groundwork for that move has already been laid, although it has not been confirmed which studio will actually make the series. The wording in the source makes clear that Activision sees this as a strategic direction for a future mainline release, not just a one-off marketing remark.

The core of the strategy is that Activision does not want to release back-to-back sequels in the same Call of Duty sub-series. That would move the company away from the recent cycle in which the franchise was mainly driven by Black Ops and Modern Warfare. The reporting frames that choice as a deliberate break from a pattern that had been visible for several years in the series’ annual release schedule.

GameSpot says Call of Duty: Vanguard from 2021 was the last mainline release that did not fall under Black Ops or Modern Warfare. The same reporting also mentions that Treyarch is teasing something players have not experienced before, but that quote is not fully included in the available material. As a result, it remains unclear whether this refers to a new mode, a new setting, or another type of content.

Separately, the article says there is also a Call of Duty project for 2027 being linked to Sledgehammer Games. However, that is presented as a rumor rather than an official confirmation. The source therefore distinguishes between what Activision is reportedly saying about the future sub-series and what is circulating in the industry as a possible plan.

The same reporting also links Modern Warfare 4 to an October 23 release, with campaign early access and a platform list. Because the supplied source material is incomplete on that point, those details are kept cautious here and throughout the article. The same applies to the reported preorder bonus, whose exact contents are not fully visible in the source text.

Background

Call of Duty has been heavily dominated by Black Ops and Modern Warfare in recent years. According to the supplied reporting, Activision wants to break that repetition by introducing a new sub-series instead of immediately moving on to another sequel within the same line. That fits a broader franchise approach in which the naming and thematic identity of each annual release matter for how the game is positioned.

The source also mentions Modern Warfare 4, including a reference to campaign early access and a possible platform list, but the text is not complete enough to confirm every detail. The contents of any preorder bonuses are also unclear. Because the supplied information is incomplete there, it is safer to treat those points as reported details rather than final announcements.

The reporting about a possible new sub-series lines up with the idea that Activision wants to keep releasing Call of Duty annually while varying the sub-brand and setting. The source explicitly says the groundwork for this new direction has already been laid, which suggests the plan is further along than an early concept. At the same time, the exact execution remains open, since the studio behind the new series has not been officially confirmed.

The mention of Sledgehammer Games for 2027 should also be read carefully. The source presents that as a rumor, not as an official project statement from Activision or Xbox. For now, it is only relevant as part of the wider reporting around franchise planning, not as a confirmed part of the release calendar.

Taken together, the new sub-series, the possible 2027 project, and the reported Modern Warfare 4 details show that Call of Duty planning in this reporting has several layers. One layer is Activision’s strategic decision to stop endlessly continuing the same sub-series, another is the rumor mill around future studio assignments, and a third is a separate release mentioned in the same news cycle.

Related GAME-scanner articles

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 gets campaign early access on October 16 and full release on October 23

Sources

• GameSpot: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-call-of-duty-sub-series-is-coming-after-years-of-black-ops-and-modern-warfare/
• The Game Business (as cited in the reporting on Tyler Bahl)