Call of Duty 2014 New Screenshot

[Update: Activision released a video about the next Call of Duty - Watch it here]

Move aside Star Wars: Episode VII, Activision wants to take advantage of the day we can say "May the fourth be with you" and use it to being the marketing campaign for the 2014 edition of Call of Duty. A staple part of every annual fall video game release schedule - for better or worse - this year's still untitled COD installment represents a new beginning of sorts for the brand.

On one hand, Call of Duty 2014 is the first game developed in full by Sledgehammer Games, a young subsidiary studio of Activision founded in 2009 who previously worked on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 alongside Infinity Ward. On the other hand, it also represents the first COD game built for the next-gen (current gen) consoles first, according to Activision boss Eric Hirshberg, who also revealed earlier this year that the publish is finally slowing down development and moving to a three-year cycle for each new franchise installment - one for each of its three COD developers.

Of course, the game is still coming out for the older consoles so the game won't be truly next-gen, but Sledgehammer does promise it'll be "ambitious" and "creative" which has us adopting a "wait and see" approach, given the last few games in the series. The first in-game screenshot for Sledgehammer's first foray into the franchise released last week and while rumors point towards the game being a future-set Modern Warfare 4, we'll find out for certain this Sunday, May 4th.

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Moments after Sledgehammer Games posted the tweet, Game Informer also revealed that their next cover story is all about this year's Call of Duty and released another new screenshot to tease the info drop. The reveal on Sunday at 10am PST will include the title of the game, interviews with Sledgehammer co-founders Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey and possibly some gameplay. The full issue will feature a 12-page story all about the game.

The character designs look much better than Call of Duty: Ghosts and the limited images we've seen at least address some of the rumors or when the game takes place - are you excited, or at least, curious about the new direction of Call of Duty and with more shooters and new IPs already out and coming (Titanfall, Destiny, Evolve), what does Sledgehammer need to deliver to compete and hold top spot?

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Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.

Sources: GI, Sledehammer Games