Activision is reportedly taking a sabbatical from Call of Duty in 2023, delaying the release of Treyarch’s next installment until 2024. Rather than a full-fledged release, Activision intends to maintain this year’s (as-yet-unannounced) Call of Duty with extra content until 2023.
According to Bloomberg, the decision to abandon the annual release cycle was made because last year’s Call of Duty: Vanguard failed to fulfill Activision’s expectations. Despite being the best-selling game of 2021, Vanguard’s sales were significantly lower than Black Ops Cold War the year before.
If the claims are true, 2023 will be the first year in two decades without a new Call of Duty game. Activision appears to be filling the void with sustained backing for Call of Duty: Black Ops III and its free-to-play spinoff Warzone.
This year’s Call of Duty will reportedly include a second free-to-play offshoot, dubbed DMZ, to help bridge the gap between regular releases. DMZ is influenced by games like Escape From Tarkov, which combines multiplayer with AI enemies and a high-pressure loot game, according to Tom Henderson, a freelance writer with a solid track record of reporting on Call of Duty and Battlefield 2042 leaks.
Bloomberg’s report has not been confirmed by Activision. Instead, it says it has “an exciting lineup of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year, and beyond” in a statement.
Activision isn’t the first company to abandon its annual release schedule. Ubisoft had to take a break from Assassin’s Creed after publishing a new game for the seventh year in a row. Origins published two years after Syndicate, was one of the best-reviewed and best-selling games in the series’ history, selling more than twice as many copies in the first 10 days as Syndicate did.
With Assassin’s Creed Infinity, Ubisoft is taking the break from the annual release one step further, aiming to turn the series into a platform. With the success of Warzone and the impending release of DMZ, we could see Call of Duty follow suit.
While Call of Duty has constantly been one of the best-selling games for the past two decades, it’s difficult to overlook the fact that the newer versions have had less positive reviews when they first came out. Players have chastised the developers for reusing assets, running short campaigns, and failing to innovate.
It’ll be exciting to see what Treyarch can accomplish with an extra year of development. Will this be Call of Duty’s Assassin’s Creed: Origins moment?
Call of Duty Game Modes
Frontline
Frontline is a team deathmatch-style mode, but the two teams have separate designated spawns on either side of the map. This keeps the spawns from being less chaotic than traditional modes, as each player will always respawn in their team’s designated spawn location. This mode hosts 10 players for each match, with 5 players per team. Players earn points for their team whenever they take out an opponent. The first team to reach 50 kills wins the match. Due to simplicity, Frontline is a good start for new players.
Team Deathmatch
This is Call of Duty’s standard Team Deathmatch mode. Unlike Frontline, spawn locations are randomized after the first initial spawning. This mode hosts 10 players for each match, with 5 players per team. Players earn points for their team whenever they take out an opponent. The first team to reach 50 kills wins the match.
Search and Destroy
Another Call of Duty classic, Search and Destroy pits two teams of 5 players against each other, alternating in rounds of attack and defense. One side must attack and detonate one of two bomb sites, while the other team defends and tries to prevent detonation. There are no respawns during the rounds. Once a player is killed, they’re out and spectate the remainder of the round. The first team to win four rounds wins the match.
Domination
Two teams of five compete in this respawn mode to capture and hold three points: A, B, and C. Teams earn points over time by holding one or more of the capture points. Domination is played in two rounds. The score limit is 100, with 50 points for round one and another 50 points is needed for the second round. First team to reach the 100 score limit wins.
Free-For-All
As suggested by the name, there are no teams in Free-for-All. In this mode, 10 players compete against each other in a match with every-player-for-themselves. A point is earned for each kill, and the first player to reach the 20-point score limit wins.
Kill Confirmed
In Kill Confirmed, two teams of five compete to collect the most enemy dog tags. Killed players drop dog tags. Enemy tags are red, while friendly tags are blue. A player earns points for their team by collecting enemy tags, but collecting teammates blue tags is also helpful to “deny” the opposition the kill. The first team to reach a total of 40 dog tags wins.
Hardpoint
Two teams of five compete to capture set “Hardpoint” locations. When there are only players from one faction inside the Hardpoint zone, that faction will score 1 point for each second they hold the zone. If members of the opposing faction enter the Hardpoint, the zone becomes contested and no points are awarded. After a period of time, the Hardpoint zone will relocate to a different area on the map. The first team to reach the score of 150 points wins.
Gunfight
Gunfight plays just like the original mode from Modern Warfare 2019. These are 2v2 matches played in rounds with one life per round. Rounds are won by either eliminating both opponents within 40 seconds, or by quickly capturing a targeted area that appears on the map after the 40-second timer ends. The first team to reach 6 points wins.
Now that you know the game modes for multiplayer, here are all the maps you can play in Call of Duty Mobile. Also, check out our recommended weapon loadouts and tips and tricks to get you started. There is a limited-time Zombies mode, Undead Siege, and we have some tips to help you survive against the undead.
