The latest rumor surrounding the 2017 entry in the Call of Duty franchise suggests that developer Sledgehammer Games will be taking things back to the Vietnam era.

We may still be a few weeks out from the release of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, but rumors have already begun circulating regarding the next game in the long-running shooter series. According to IGN Spain, the 2017 Call of Duty entry will be set during Vietnam.

The rumor itself claims that the Call of Duty sequel will feature a time period that’s some time between 1955 and 1975, so it’s possible that this won’t necessarily be a Vietnam game. Call of Duty: Black Ops, for example, used the Vietnam time period as its setting, but tried to tell its own story.

Of course, there is a certain amount of skepticism with which fans should treat these rumors. Call of Duty development may not be the best-kept secret, but this far out there usually isn’t much to say about the next year’s game, especially when the current year’s game has to release.

That being said, when Call of Duty switched to a three-year cycle with a three-developer rotation, development has started on the next games much earlier. In the case of 2017, that developer is Sledgehammer Games, whose involvement with the project lends more credence to the Vietnam rumors.

See, back when Call of Duty development was shared between Infinity Ward and Treyarch, Sledgehammer was working on a third person Call of Duty project that was going to be set during Vietnam. Through concept art and early footage, gamers could see what Sledgehammer was trying to go for, but unfortunately the project was cancelled before it could ever truly get off the ground.

With all that being said, it makes a little more sense that Sledgehammer Games might be working on a Call of Duty title set during or around the Vietnam era. They clearly have experience with the time period and maybe even have some concepts or design elements that could be repurposed for this next game.

If nothing else a change of time period could very well be the shot in the arm that the Call of Duty franchise has been looking for. Ever since Infinite Warfare’s first trailer debuted gamers have been decidedly mixed on the game. Its trailer is one of the most disliked on YouTube and though a strong multiplayer showing has swayed some, the future setting still has its fair share of detractors. In fact, the big-ticket item of this year is actually Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, which will be sold as an add-on to the Infinite Warfare package and not as a standalone product.

To put it another way, some fans have been vehemently requesting that Call of Duty go back to its roots and deliver a more traditional military experience. And if Vietnam is the setting for next year’s game it seems as if Activision got the message loud and clear.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare releases November 4, 2016 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: IGN Spain