- In an official statement, Activision confirmed that Call of Duty will no longer release back-to-back Modern Warfare or Black Ops games.
- The devs also owned up to the franchise's recent woes, promising to "deliver and overdeliver" on fan expectations going forward.
- The statement also confirmed a week-long free trial period for Black Ops 7 scheduled for next week.
The official Call of Duty account on X shared a surprising statement that read apologetic in tone, with the team attempting to own up to the franchise’s recent woes. In the message, the devs revealed a major change in CoD’s annual release model while also confirming a free trial period for the relatively fresh Black Ops 7.
Activision Confirms Changes to Annual Release Model
Right from the jump, the devs admitted that Call of Duty hasn’t met fans’ expectations fully, before promising to “deliver and overdeliver” on those expectations going forward. They laid out their release strategy for the future, stating, “We will no longer do back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games. The reasons are many, but the main one is to ensure we provide an absolutely unique experience each and every year.”
The devs also teased innovations that drive the franchise forward instead of being iterative: “We will drive innovation that is meaningful, not incremental. While we aren’t sharing those plans today, we look forward to doing so when the time is right.”
Regarding Black Ops 7’s controversial launch, the team is letting the game do the talking. Starting next week, Black Ops 7 Multiplayer and Zombies will be available for a week-long free trial, giving players a chance to check out the game firsthand before forming a final verdict on its quality.
As we relayed in our review, the Multiplayer and Zombies offerings are pretty solid when isolated from the lackluster campaign. This move is likely to help establish that notion among the wider community, especially since the campaign caught so much flak that it killed any momentum Black Ops 7 had gathered on release.
Besides this, the devs also hammered home their pre-release promises of exceptional seasonal content: “Your continuing feedback will help shape our seasonal updates over the coming months. Season 01 is the largest live season ever, and we’re just getting started. We won’t rest until Black Ops 7 earns its place as one of the best Black Ops games we’ve ever made.”
These are fighting words to say the least, but Call of Duty is no stranger to empty promises. With that being said, what do you make of Activision’s statement? Let us know in the comments.
