The 2023 edition of Call of Duty is reportedly eyeing a reveal in early August. As per Insider Gaming, Activision is planning to showcase its next entry in the marquee shooter franchise on August 1, via an in-game event. The format isn’t out of fashion for the publisher, who previously unveiled Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard inside the original Warzone game. While the official name and details on the upcoming title are scarce, earlier reports claimed that Sledgehammer Games was leading development on what’s probably not Modern Warfare 3.
Activision made headlines last year when it revealed that Call of Duty will be skipping its annual release cycle in 2023 — first time in 20 years — to opt for an ‘always on’ live-service mode’. It was then suggested that the shooter be receiving a premium expansion to Call of Duty Modern Warfare II this year, which packages a campaign DLC and a multiplayer ‘greatest hits map pack’ boasting some classics from earlier entries. That content now seems to have evolved into a standalone full-price title, serving as an extension that carries over maps and game modes from MW2. Insider Gaming also revealed some key dates for Call of Duty 2023, including the beta sessions, campaign early access, and the launch date. Take this information with a grain of salt though, as plans could always change.
According to the leak, the untitled Call of Duty game has set two beta weekend periods, with the first one aimed solely towards PlayStation players — scheduled to run October 6–10. The second weekend includes PC and Xbox players as well and will reportedly run from October 12 to 16. As usual, a campaign early access is also expected — possibly as a pre-order bonus on November 2. Meanwhile, the full Call of Duty 2023 launch seems to be eyeing a November 10 date.
Activision is known for rotating between its three main developers — Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games — for its annual Call of Duty games. However, it broke the pattern last year, moving Treyarch’s planned entry from 2023 to 2024, which was previously reported to have a two-year life cycle, with chunks of new content releasing periodically. The delay created a gap and that’s where the aforementioned extension to Call of Duty MW2 comes into play.
Season 3 of the ongoing Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer kicked off last month, bringing new operators, a new Gulag, and two premium maps — Black Gold and Pelayo’s Lighthouse. The latter is set on a stormy island with a lighthouse at its centre, housing several maintenance buildings, a boat dock, and a helipad. Ranked Play was also added in February, with game modes adhering to the rules set by Call of Duty League (CDL).