With Modern Warfare easily becoming something of a resurgence for the franchise as a whole, it's evident that fans are more excited than ever for the next mainline release in the Call of Duty franchise. Rumors have claimed that the game will likely be a sequel to the Black Ops series, with the title supposedly going back to its roots and returning to the Cold War era. Luckily, it seems fans know when they'll get more solid information, however, it might not be exactly what they want to hear.
Leaked a week ago by LongSensation, a reputable source who has accurately revealed a number of prior Call of Duty details, it seems Activision is looking to reveal something big about the franchise's newest sequel during May. Although the leaker didn't clarify what this news might be, he did post a gif on Twitter, showing two helicopters that look eerily similar to models used during the Vietnam war, perhaps hinting towards when the game will take place.
Unfortunately, LongSensation has since followed up his claims with some disappointing news, with the leaker since admitting that the game is currently experiencing some issues due to the Coronavirus outbreak. In a tweet, he revealed "2020 CoD isn't looking so great atm. It's also possible that the #coronavirus and compulsory shutdowns could cause a game delay." He followed this up by also clarifying "This doesn't just apply to Call of Duty, but likely to a lot of games we all know and love." Naturally, this will come as a heavy blow to a lot of Call of Duty fans who feel the franchise has just started to truly find its feet again, with the impressive release of Modern Warfare and the recent debut of Warzone taking the world by storm.
Fans keeping up with recent gaming news will know that it seems likely a lot of titles will indeed suffer greatly due to the spread of Coronavirus, with Jason Schreier claiming that most games set to release after April would be at risk of delay. Evidently this stretches from the likes of The Last of Us: Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima to much more distant titles such as the next Call of Duty, with studios no longer being able to safely work on their newest games.
Evidently, the Coronavirus will have a big impact on the games industry going forward. The pandemic has already forced a number of massive conventions to shut their doors, while events like the Overwatch League and a number of League of Legends events have also had to delay or cancel in the wake of the outbreak. Hopefully, whenever the next Call of Duty does arrive, it'll be another slamdunk for the series.
Call of Duty 2020 is currently in development.