Bilawal Bashir 
Call of Duty is the biggest franchise in Activision’s arsenal and the publishing giant has the series mapped out far into the future.
Every fan has their own favorite Call of Duty games. Some love Modern Warfare, others enjoy the Black Ops, and there’s probably some poor soul out there who thinks Vanguard was the best. It’s been 20 years since the franchise launched and it has seen many ups and downs.
With Call of Duty releasing every year for the past two decades, Activision needs to plan, especially with a tentpole franchise. Activision president Rob Kostich talked with GamesBeat and discussed gaming’s biggest FPS franchise as well as the soon-to-be-released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
How many Call of Duty games will there be?
Activision seemingly plans to make Call of Duty games forever, with executives indicating that the company has planned out where the series will go several years in advance.
Three Activision-owned studios rotate lead development duties for Call of Duty games. Traditionally, Infinity Ward has handled the Modern Warfare series, Treyarch deals with Black Ops games, and Sledgehammer Games tackles games set in the past as well as Advanced Warfare.
Activision is mixing things up in 2023 by releasing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 right after the second game released last year. Judging from Kostich, this wasn’t a surprise internally.
“Right now, we have games planned out all the way through [2027] for the things that we’re working on,” Kostich explained.
Precedent suggests that 2023 should’ve been a Black Ops year for the Call of Duty series. The studios are aiding each other in making games and Treyarch is busy helping Infinity Ward with Modern Warfare 3. According to Kostich, around 3,000 developers are working on the series. It’s possible Activision is looking to spice things up in future Call of Duty titles.
What are the most popular Call of Duty games?
According to Activision president Rob Kostich, the most popular Call of Duty games are from the Modern Warfare and Black Ops series.
“You see things like the Modern Warfare and Black Ops franchises are really popular,” stated Kostich.
He continued explaining how well some other games performed, like 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII by Sledgehammer Games. Rob Kostich also stressed the importance of changing things up and keeping the game fresh for returning fans. “It’s a balance,” he added and explained the company aims to provide different experiences and “new kinds of fun” to the players.
Talking about the popularity of genres, Kostich explained that weapons play a huge part. There isn’t a lot of freedom when making a historical game set during a World War. Call of Duty games in the present or future offer greater freedom for ideating weapons and attachments. Modern Warfare 3 is launching soon and it lives up to its title by being set in 2023. It’s set to feature an extensive selection of weaponry including the ability to import skins earned in Modern Warfare 2.
