The next Call of Duty will launch alongside a revamped ‘Warzone’

Expect a big shake-up to Warzone in tandem with the next Call of Duty game. Activision has shared early details of its Call of Duty releases for 2022, and it’s promising a “massive evolution” of Warzone designed in sync with the core CoD title. They’ll both sport a new game engine, and Warzone will include both an “all-new playspace” and a familiar-sounding sandbox mode. The main game, meanwhile, is a sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot.

Infinity Ward is leading development of both the new Call of Duty and Warzone. That’s not surprising when the studio handled both the Modern Warfare revival and the current Warzone. It’s not clear to what degree series veterans Raven, Sledgehammer or Treyarch will be involved, but they certainly won’t take a leading role. Sledgehammer was responsible for 2021’s Call of Duty: Vanguard, while Raven and Treyarch worked on 2020’s Black Ops Cold War.

The teaser may be welcome if you’re eager to see a franchise refresh. Even so, it’s coming at a less-than-ideal moment for Activision. Raven staff have been pushing for unionization, and Microsoft’s purchase of Activision briefly raised questions about the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation. That’s not including the effects of the ongoing misconduct scandal at the publisher. Like it or not, the corporate turmoil might overshadowing the Call of Duty team’s efforts at moments like this.