The presence Call of Duty has as a franchise is difficult to understate. Rising over a long period to become one of the definitive names in the massively popular first-person shooter genre, it is no wonder other IPs may find it difficult to establish themselves in comparison to the sheer success of Call of Duty. That being said, reports suggest there will be no Call of Duty title release in 2023.
If this rumor turns out to be true, it could potentially break two decades of consistent, annual releases for the Activision franchise. With this break in tradition could come an unprecedented opportunity for other first-person shooter titles that have historically not been able to compete with the sustained support Call of Duty has seen for so long.
The Reports Behind 2023's Call of Duty
Reports that 2023 will not see its own Call of Duty release come from Activision itself, which cites the unprecedented scope and scale of the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 as the primary reason behind this potential break in annual releases. As mentioned, the Call of Duty franchise has had an annual mainline release since the series' second installment in 2005.
Call of Duty will still have a large presence in 2023 even without a new release due to the ongoing support for Modern Warfare 2 and the highly anticipated Warzone 2. That being said, it remains to be seen just how big of an impact that an absence in the release schedule will have on the sustainability of the brand next year.
How FPS Franchises like Battlefield can Benefit from Call of Duty's Absence
It is understandably difficult for other FPS franchises to permeate the established order of the popular genre. While other FPS giants such as Medal of Honor and Battlefield have historically been direct competitors to Call of Duty, the recent performances of these other franchises leave Call of Duty to reign supreme.
For example, the recent launch of Battlefield 2042 was tumultuous due to technical issues, glaring gameplay omissions, and a lack of content seeing the player count for the much-anticipated title drop significantly not long after release. While it is true that recent Call of Duty entries such as Vanguard have had weak sales compared to other installments, the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 is exciting FPS fans in a way that has not been seen for some time.
Despite this current hype surrounding Call of Duty, the lack of a 2023 presents an opportunity for other contenders, especially if title-fatigue around Modern Warfare 2 in 2023 leads fans to look elsewhere. This would foster the perfect environment for titles such as Battlefield 2042 to really commit to pushing out new content, or for tiles like Escape From Tarkov to make their long-awaited forays into the console space.
Console gaming in particular provides the biggest potential opportunity during a lull in Call of Duty content, given how synonymous the franchise's multiplayer is with the online console experience. While it will still be a momentous task to take the spotlight entirely off of Call of Duty, the likely absence of a new installment in 2023 will provide as good an opportunity as any for old and new FPS franchises to get a serious foothold in a saturated genre.