2022 will still see the arrival of a mainline Call of Duty title, which even seems to be cross-gen, so fans of the series are likely to be satisfied through this calendar year. However, the next iteration on the almost two-decade-old formula, likely to be developed by Treyarch, will not sit in its usual November release window. Microsoft’s acquisition of publisher Activision Blizzard is a likely catalyst for the delay, as the news comes just one month after the company bought the publisher. Call of Duty is a series committed to annual releases for years, so the pressure was going to catch up eventually. The news of a delay to the 2023 game is proof of that.

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Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Critical and Commercial Disappointment

In comparison to its predecessors, Call of Duty: Vanguard was a relative commercial failure. For the first time since 2007, when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare laid the groundwork for all future releases, Activision’s crowning first-person shooter began to show its age in the face of Halo’s resurgence with Halo Infinite. The Call of Duty license faced steep competition in 2021, and the twitchy, laser-focused gameplay felt like a relative dinosaur in comparison to some of its contemporaries.

That’s not to say it didn’t advance the formula somewhat, as many praised its Combat Pacing mechanic, which granted players a level of agency over their experience. Call of Duty: Vanguard, for all intents and purposes, isn’t a bad game, but its failure to meet fans’ expectations or sales targets means the inevitability of a delay presented itself earlier than many would have expected. Vanguard was the proverbial straw that broke the Call of Duty camel’s back, and coupled with the sky-high expectations Microsoft has for the series’ sales moving forward, made a surprising delay all the more predictable.

A Delay Announcement May Be A Blessing In Disguise

By releasing a new title each and every year, Call of Duty is a series that caters to fans, strictly on an annual basis. Each game is only really designed to be played until the next hits shelves, so the announcement of a delay on the horizon means the 2022 sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will have to alter its approach to longevity slightly. The distaste for any new Call of Duty game only lingers for a short time, largely because fans need only wait 12 months for the next, so the next game in the genre-defining series will need to provide a substantial enough experience to last potentially months past what its predecessors offered.

In any case, altering the annual release schedule was inevitable, and it’s a surprise that Call of Duty hasn’t broken the mold before now. However, other franchises have proved that this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. From Grand Theft Auto 4, to Assassin’s Creed Origins, breaking the twelve-month cycle often results in a more well-rounded, and satisfying experience, which may serve the series well in the long-run.

An Inconsequential Inevitability

Call of Duty’s huge fanbase, as well as its prominence in the video game sphere, means that the series is in a prime position to handle a slight postponement in the warfare festivities. While many smaller developers would surely be far harder hit by a delay of its project, Activision and Treyarch have the resources to manage such a comparatively significant delay. A well-earned break in the much-loved and equally-loathed Call of Duty series was something that many has seen coming for a good long while now, but its delay will, ultimately, prove largely inconsequential.

Call of Duty 2022 is in development at Infinity Ward.

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