As the new year begins, manyCall of Dutyfans have set their eyes on 2022’sModern Warfare 2. Therumors ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2continue to come forth, and the most recent example of this happens to linked toCall of Duty: Vanguard. The Sledgehammer Games title appears to be a step-back in the eyes of publisher Activision. And because of that, changes may be on the way.
According to rumors,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2will release sooner than expectedthanks to the issues ofVanguard. Activision is thinking already of washing its hands ofCall of Duty: Vanguardand focusing on the sequel to the extremely successfulModern Warfare(2019). This is also the title that helped launchCall of Duty: Warzone, the massively popular battle royale. AlthoughCall of Dutyas a whole may not be in tip-top form at the moment, things may soon turn around thanks to theModern Warfaresubseries.
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The Failures of Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty: Vanguardis one of the lowest selling games in the shooter series. In fact,Vanguardposted the worst franchise launch since 2007in some regions. The series had been on an upwards trajectory with the huge release of 2019’sModern Warfare, followed by the battle royaleWarzone. However,Vanguardappears to have not “clicked” in terms of sales compared to other recent launches. Recent rumors point to that being the reason Activision already wants to start pushingModern Warfare 2.
While no game is perfect,Call of Duty: Vanguardhas been an often-complained about bug-filled mess. AndVanguard’s Twitch viewership numbers have been dropping rapidly, which is a good way to analyze fan interest in a game. Fall of 2021 was set up to be a heavyweight fight betweenVanguard, Battlefield 2042,andHalo Infinite. That battle is one that the originalModern Warfareseries is used to taking on, but by most accounts Halo Infinite took the crown in 2021. With that in mind, theModern Warfaresubseries looks to get back into the ring.
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The Good News for Modern Warfare 2
Theissues ofCall of Duty: Vanguardmay be good forModern Warfare 2. Recent rumors say that Activision and Infinity Ward may showcaseModern Warfare 2sooner rather than later, meaning sometime in early summer.Call of Dutygames used to be first shown off in late Spring, so it could be that a focus will be put on trying to get back to that. Meanwhile, the game may be released in October this year, as opposed to the late release of November forVanguard. All of this is because Activision wants to focus on the more popular game as soon as possible, which is good for fans.
It is also important to realize that Infinity Ward is learning what not to do for its next shooter. The developer likely has an eye onVanguard, and it will hopefully lean towards what is working/has worked in the past, which happens to be a multiplayer experience that many believe to be the best in the series. BothCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarandCall of Duty: Vanguardalso had glitch-filled and imperfect implantation periods withCall of Duty: Warzone.Meanwhile, the battle royale was initially launched withModern Warfare(2019) in mind, so it could be thatCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2will have a smoother integration with the popular battle royale.
What is next for Sledgehammer Games
If it is true that Activision is making release date changes and shifting its marketing plan for what will likely beCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2—all becauseCall of Duty: Vanguard, was a disappointment—Sledgehammer Games could be in some trouble. The developer has created multipleCall of Dutytitles, includingAdvanced WarfareandWorld War 2.However,there have beenrumors of massive turmoil inside Sledgehammer Games, and one could wonder howVanguardwill impact the developer.
Call of Duty: Vanguardwas originally set to release in 2020. However, thanks to development issues, Activision placed Treyarch in charge of that year’s title. Apparently the fear was thatVanguardsimply would not be ready in time, and therefore the team was given an additional year to create the game, which was about four years in total. That meant that Treyarch’sCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warwas fast forwarded, meaning that team had to launch the game a whole year earlier than expected. Sledgehammer Games' founderGlenn Schofield moved on to his new studio Striking Distance Studios, and Sledgehammer’s first title without Schofield seems to have fallen short. One can wonder if this will be the last major effort allowed by the developer, and it could be that Sledgehammer is utilized as more of aCall of Dutysupport team exclusively moving forward, similar to Raven Software’s role.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is rumored to be in development.
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