That’s according to a report, senior employees at Activision are contemplating changing the Call of Duty’s release schedule

It’s the most shocking news in the gaming world: Microsoft has bought Activision Blizzard, and with it, the industry landscape changes completely. If completed, the record-breaking deal will give Xbox control of a roster of big-name international franchises, with the Call of Duty franchise being the leading player here.

New information from Bloomberg has provided more clues as to what might happen in the future after the merger of the companies, and in particular, a very striking detail related to the popular shooter. Call of Duty could cease to be released on a yearly basis once it becomes directly dependent on Microsoft, which will impose a new strategy.

As detailed, senior officials at Activision Blizzard have commented that there are talks that the franchise will no longer be annual, or at least we won’t always have a major release at the end of each year. The decision is not yet firm, but there is a desire among Call of Duty staff to make it happen.

Among the main reasons that would lead to this new strategy with the series is the fact that Call of Duty: Vanguard has sold 36% less than its predecessor, which would indicate a certain weariness on the part of the players. Still, it should be clear that sales figures are still in the multi-millions, and every Call of Duty, including Vanguard, is usually at the top of the sales charts year after year.

That duality is where the debate lies, so we will just have to wait for the deal to be completed to see what happens to the series. The developers have recently had to apologise for the state of the latest Call of Duty games, as they are suffering from a number of stability issues following recent content updates affecting several games. What we do know for sure is Phil Spencer’s intention to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, something that has reassured the gaming community on Sony’s consoles.

Source: eurogamer