There have been multiple rumors doing the rounds lately regarding the Call of Duty franchise and what is to come of it in the future. Many of these Call of Duty rumors relate to the release and development of new games, with the latest suggesting that Sledgehammer Games is already working on a new entry in the series.One of the main rumors surrounding the franchise notes that a new mainline Call of Duty game will not be releasing in 2023. Activision refuted this but did not explicitly state that a mainline Call of Duty game will release in 2023. This information has left the door open for leakers and fans to speculate on a range of possible directions that the series could go in the next year.RELATED: Rumor: Call of Duty Warzone 2 Could Be Skipping Older ConsolesA new rumor from reputable leaker Tom Henderson now alleges that Sledgehammer Games has already begun work on a new Call of Duty game. This will likely be surprising to some, as Sledgehammer Games is the studio behind Call of Duty: Vanguard, which many fans believe to be a lower point of the series. The leaker also suggests that the game will likely only arrive some time in 2024 or later, as multiple sources seem to agree that a mainline Call of Duty game will not release in 2023.

Henderson also seems to believe that a standalone free-to-play Call of Duty zombies game will release some time next year. Henderson alleges that Activision is trying to space out premium Call of Duty games in order to improve sales, as some fans opted not to buy Call of Duty: Vanguard as a result of series fatigue.

The upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will purportedly not include a zombies mode, which means that a standalone zombies game releasing in 2023 may be just what the series needs. Another Call of Duty leaker called RalphsValve has also noted that fans should expect to know more about the Call of Duty game releasing this year by the end of the month. If this happens to be the case, it will certainly be interesting, as Activision waited until August last year to announce Vanguard.

In the meantime, the rest of Sledgehammer Games is still working on fixing Call of Duty: Vanguard. Some fans had issues with the game's spawn system, which prompted the developer to create a new system that spawns players farther away from enemies, which will give them a better chance of survival.

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