There is still much unknown regarding Call of Duty 2021, but recent leaks and rumors have sparked speculation upon what may be coming later this year. While these are just predictions, there is a pattern to Activision publishing that fans can follow faithfully. Call of Duty 2021 may be months away, but that doesn't mean that Activision will be changing the pattern any time soon.
The setting, release date, and confirmed title are all beyond the realm of speculation, but developers are not. Several recruitment drives, insider leaks, and comments from developer social media accounts hint at what Call of Duty 2021 may become. Using these slim pieces of information, parts of a larger picture begin to form, giving clues to the future of the Call of Duty franchise.
Activision has many development teams under its control working on several projects at once. While Infinity Ward, Raven Software, and Treyarch are hard at work patching Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Sledgehammer has been recruiting massive support quietly. Beenox recently was revived as well, suggesting that it may be acting as an auxiliary team to help in current developmental projects or future releases.
Sledgehammer Games and WWII
By far, the biggest focus of the Call of Duty community is Sledgehammer Games which is known for making some previous Call of Duty titles. Recently, Sledgehammer Games started recruiting in mass for an upcoming project, and the popular leaker Tom Henderson has been hinting at its involvement in a future project. While Sledgehammer has not confirmed its involvement as of yet, many fans are speculating that it could be taking the lead on an upcoming release for Activision.
Sledgehammer Games is best known for its creation of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty: WWII. By creating gritty and realistic titles, the developer has earned its rank as one of the most "hardcore" teams making Call of Duty. This reputation further ignites speculation that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare could be receiving a sequel, or the team may be unveiling something completely new for the fans to enjoy.
Tom Henderson shared a graphic back at the beginning of January that shows a timeline for recent releases. Call of Duty titles created by Sledgehammer Games tends to take roughly two years of development time as opposed to Infinity Ward's one-year rotation. By this logic, it is about time that Sledgehammer would be unveiling its next release following a pattern set by previous titles. While Henderson is not directly confirming this, the graphic does give a good idea of which studio is most likely creating the next game.
Modern Warfare 2 Or Infinite Warfare 2
While it is unlikely, there have also been rumors circulating that Infinity Ward is working on the next Modern Warfare title. Both Modern Warfare and Infinite Warfare could easily be on the developer docket, but that progression is unlikely, seeing as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is still receiving updates. As far as the community can tell, Infinity Ward is taking a backseat position as a support team aiding other companies in creating and maintaining Call of Duty titles.
Despite this, it is still possible that Infinite Warfare could be receiving a sequel eventually. Despite its mixed reception, the game is still part of the franchise, and Activision is quite fond of producing sequels to almost any title. Fans would prefer to see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 revealed, but that doesn't mean that it's in the cards for 2021.
The wild-card in this situation is Infinity Ward's involvement in Call of Duty: Warzone's production with Raven Software. While Call of Duty: Warzone is expected to continue without much resistance, Infinity Ward may be taking a closer position to the title as a support team. Beenox was recently confirmed to be doing just this, so having more hands at the ready could easily be the plan for Activision's popular battle royale experience.
World War 3
After the success of Call of Duty: WWII, many fans are now wondering if Sledgehammer may be moving towards the future. A recent Tweet from ModernWarzone pointed towards WW3 being a possible environment for Sledgehammer Games to progress its engine towards. While there has been no confirmation about whether this is true, fan speculation has been boiling on this point for some time. While there are not better guesses at the moment for a setting, Sledgehammer Games is at least at the forerunning for creating the next Call of Duty title.
If the game takes place in WW3, it will be interesting to see how the developer mixes different political ideals. There is no clear villain in a war in the future, and Sledgehammer does not currently have the storyline fodder to craft one in the same way Call of Duty: Black Ops could. It would be a leap in creative storytelling, but not one that the game's community is directly opposed to.
It should be noted that all "confirmations" regarding Call of Duty 2021 are still too early to be confirmed. The game is still in the speculation stage, and even these ideas could easily shift in the coming months. Call of Duty and Activision have always been good at keeping secrets regarding their titles, and with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's reveal having such a positive reception, the community may have to do more than just wait for the next game.
While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone fans are calling for a shift in development release times, Activision seems to be planning to stay on target with yearly launches. The games can continue to cycle, and with Call of Duty: Warzone standing at the front, the developers have another opportunity for a new integration. It will be interesting to see how the series changes and molds as more titles are launched in a battle royale atmosphere. Till then, fans can only speculate on Activision, Sledgehammer, and the future of Call of Duty in the coming year and onwards.
Call of Duty 2021 is expected to be revealed later this year.