Call Of Duty Might Stop Being A Yearly Series, But Maybe Not Soon Or Ever

Call of Duty has been the best-selling video game series in the US for 13 years in a row now, but despite that, there have reportedly been discussions about no longer releasing the series annually.

According to a report from Bloomberg, “high-level employees have discussed moving away from the annual release schedule…” as part of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Nothing is set in stone as of yet, but the report said “there’s a belief among many Call of Duty developers that releasing games at a slower cadence will please players and help bolster the franchise.”

This change could happen in 2023, or potentially later, the report said. 2022’s new Call of Duty game, which is said to be a sequel to Infinity Ward’s hugely popular Modern Warfare reboot, is poised to “redeem the franchise’s fortunes,” Bloomberg’s report said.

“Slowing down the Call of Duty release schedule may lighten developers’ intense workloads and could provide new opportunities for Activision’s gamemakers to work on other titles,” the report said.

The Call of Duty series debuted in 2003 and took a year off in 2004 before returning with Call of Duty 2 in 2005. After that, Activision released a new game every year since. The entire series has sold more than 400 million premium units, which only represents a fraction of the franchise’s money-making opportunities. Call of Duty: Warzone, the free-to-play battle royale game, is a major revenue-driver, while Call of Duty: Mobile is a massive juggernaut as well.

The Call of Duty franchise has a three-year development cycle for each new installment, rotating between Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer, and Treyarch taking development duties with the support of other teams like Raven and High Moon, among others.

The latest release was Call of Duty: Vanguard, which was 2021’s best-selling game overall in the US. The second best-selling game of 2021 was also a Call of Duty game, Black Ops Cold War. And as mentioned, the Call of Duty series is the best-selling game franchise for dollar sales for 13 years in a row in the US.

There is clearly a business case to be made for releasing a new Call of Duty game every year, but that might not be the only factor at play after Microsoft takes over, if the deal goes through.

When Microsoft announced its intent to buy Activision Blizzard, many wondered if the Call of Duty series would become exclusive to Xbox. Phil Spencer, the new head of Microsoft Gaming, released a statement that suggested Call of Duty will continue to be released on PlayStation, not unlike how Microsoft still releases new Minecraft games and experiences on competing consoles despite owning the franchise. Spencer said this was Microsoft’s “desire,” and his words do not outright confirm anything specific.

Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022

Microsoft’s deal to buy Activision Blizzard is expected to go through in Microsoft’s FY2023, which means sometime between July 2022-June 2023.

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Where Is Xur Today? (Jan. 21-25) – Destiny 2 Xur Location And Exotics Guide

We’re slowly learning more and more about the upcoming Witch Queen expansion for Destiny 2, and each new info drop means we’re a little closer to the end of the Season of the Lost. That means there are fewer and fewer opportunities to capitalize on Xur’s inventory of Exotics and Legendaries before the new expansion kicks off. Here’s where you can find Xur this weekend and what Exotics he’s selling.

Xur arrives in the solar system on Friday morning, so we’ll update this article as soon as he arrives with everything you need to know.

Xur is present every weekend in Destiny 2, starting with the daily reset at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET each Friday. His exact location is always a mystery when he first arrives, as he is not listed on the map, and for novice players, he can be easy to miss. However, there are a set number of locations where he takes up residence, including the Tower Hangar area, on Nessus in Watcher’s Grave, and in the Winding Cove area of the EDZ.

Alongside changes in his location, Xur’s inventory also rotates weekly. That means it’s worth visiting him each time to check out his new weapons and rolls on Exotic and Legendary armor. You can visit him any time between his arrival Friday and the weekly reset at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET the following Tuesday when Xur departs the solar system.

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Bullseye! Fortnite Hawkeye Skins Introduce Clint Barton And Kate Bishop

After the Disney+ series showed off their awesome archery, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop from Marvel’s Hawkeye are now available in the Fortnite Item Shop.

The two skins are available individually for 1,500 V-Bucks each, with both coming with unique back bling: Hawkguy’s Arsenal for Clint and Kate’s Quiver for Kate. There are other accessories available separately for 500 V-Bucks each, including the Taut Slicer and Pickross Bow pickaxes and the Aerial Archer glider.

A string + a stick =
Legendary archers Clint Barton & Kate Bishop. Available in the Item Shop now! pic.twitter.com/pgZMgCqqWy

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) January 21, 2022

All of the above items are also available in one big Hawkeye Bundle for 2,400 V-Bucks, with the bundle also including the Hawkeyes loading screen seen in the tweet above.

Clint and Kate are the latest leaked skins to quickly become part of the game, meaning we may also see Spider-Man’s longtime foe Green Goblin and Vi from Arcane: A League of Legends Story in the Item Shop soon as well. As for what else is new in the game right now, the gentle giant Klombos have emerged from the Winterfest snow, while the 19.10 update also heralded the return of fan-favorite location Tilted Towers.

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Call Of Duty Will Still Release On PlayStation, Xbox Head Phil Spencer Says

It appears you’ll still be able to answer the Call of Duty on PlayStation in the future, despite Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer made the announcement just a few days after the acquisition was revealed, answering one of players’ most-pressing questions.

Speaking on Twitter, Spencer said Microsoft intends to “honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation.”

Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022

There were questions regarding Call of Duty’s position as an Xbox exclusive in the future, but Spencer’s statement appears to put those to bed–at least for now. It’s also possible that some, but not all, Call of Duty games will come to PlayStation, or that Microsoft provides it as a Game Pass-exclusive and thus would require the service to be on PS4 and PS5.

There is no stopping Microsoft from making Call of Duty a console-exclusive franchise several years from now, but it would also go against the philosophy that Spencer’s teams have adopted over the last several years. Despite purchasing Mojang Studios, Minecraft still gets support and even spin-off games on PlayStation and Nintendo systems.

Other Activision Blizzard brands remain question marks regarding exclusivity. These include Diablo, Warcraft, Overwatch, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, and other dormant franchises like Prototype and Singularity. However, there’s a pretty good chance most of these will find their way to Game Pass, if the Bethesda Softworks library is anything to go by.

Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition is expected to close in FY 2023, which begins later this year. It must be approved by regulatory agencies prior to being official.

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Call Of Duty: Vanguard Patch Notes Reveal Shotgun Nerfs And Bug Fixes

A new update went live for Call of Duty: Vanguard on January 20 to deliver more bug fixes and another nerf to shotguns for multiplayer. A few bugs were also squashed for Vanguard’s Zombies mode.

For multiplayer changes, the January 20 patch notes from Sledgehammer Games detail fixes for killstreak and perk issues. Players can no longer gain infinite ammo from a killstreak exploit, and the developer addressed a bug that caused missing challenge details when previewing the Welgun after unlocking its challenges in multiplayer. Additionally, players with the Fortified Perk are no longer immune to any fire damage including fire from the Flamenaut streak and the Incendiary Grenade equipment.

Shotguns have felt over-powered since Vanguard’s launch, but the patch notes reveal another round of nerfs aimed to level the playing field. Damage has been reduced for the Akimbo Double Barrel Shotgun, and the range was reduced for the Buck and Slug attachment.

For Zombies mode, small adjustments were made to Der Anfang. The update added a fix for an issue that could occasionally prevent a player’s Artifact from working properly after self-reviving, and an exploit where support weapons could provide infinite ammo was corrected, too.

An update also arrived to Call of Duty: Warzone on January 20 to buff the Katana melee weapon and bring several game fixes to the battle royale. The full details for the Warzone patch notes can be found here. All of these improvements arrive just a day after Activision announced the delay of Vanguard and Warzone’s Season 2 in order to bring quality-of-life updates to Vanguard, Warzone, Black Ops Cold War, and Modern Warfare 2019.

The full patch notes can be found below, as shared by Sledgehammer Games.

It’s uncertain how the change will impact Call of Duty, but Microsoft has acquired Activision Blizzard–pending regulatory approval–in a deal to be valued at nearly $70 billion. Activision Blizzard has been struggling as of late with employee walkouts and lawsuits and other investigations related to allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination against women.

MULTIPLAYER

Bug Fixes

WeaponsLongshots now count when achieved through Incendiary Round’s damage over timeWhen previewing the Welgun after unlocking Challenges in Multiplayer, the Welgun is no longer missing challenge detailsCorrected unintended behavior with Buck and Slug, which resulted in players getting headshot bonuses when shooting limbsPerksPlayers with the Fortified Perk are no longer immune to any fire damage including Flamenaut and Incendiary GrenadeKillstreaksFixed an issue where some players would not retain their Killstreaks in between roundsUsers can no longer gain infinite ammo with a Killstreak bug exploit

Weapon Balancing

Shotguns Akimbo Double Barrel Shotgun Damage has been reducedAttachments Buck and Slug Range has been reduced

Adjusted CDL Recipes with the following:

Match start timer is now 30 secondsRemoved FMJ from Restricted ListRespawn Delay Timer set to 3.5 secondsSuicide Respawn Delay Timer set to 4.5 secondsAdded Incendiary Grenades to Restricted ListAdded Bombing Run to Restricted ListAll Killstreaks, except Artillery Strike and Cruise Missile, are restricted and not able to be used while in Ranked matches

ZOMBIES

ArtifactsAddressed an issue that could occasionally prevent the player’s Artifact from working properly after using a Self-Revive.SupportAddressed an issue where Support weapons could provide infinite ammo.Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Bring World Of Warcraft To Game Pass, But Maybe Not Xbox

Much has already been said–including right here on GameSpot–about the significance of Call of Duty becoming a first-party Microsoft property, and whether it should become an Xbox exclusive or continue releasing on competing platforms. However, there is a different big decision Microsoft could make that would drastically expand another game’s audience: bringing World of Warcraft to Game Pass, though not necessarily Xbox.

World of Warcraft has seen a level of longevity that is almost unprecedented among online games, having continued without a true sequel for more than 17 years. However, that period hasn’t seen consistent growth, and many players have been leaving the game in recent months for alternatives such as Final Fantasy XIV. Getting people to stick around in a game long-term is difficult enough because of how many other games there are to play, but getting them to fork over $15 per month for a subscription fee is an even harder sell. Players have two different “costs” to consider–both the monthly fee and the amount of time they’ll need to play in order to make that expense worthwhile–and that’s pretty daunting for adults with families, full-time jobs, and other obligations.

So, why not ease the burden of entry by including World of Warcraft on Game Pass for PC? Microsoft’s continued push toward making Xbox its Game Pass division rather than a console division hasn’t exactly been subtle, and the idea of paying a separate $15 fee for one game when hundreds of others are included in Game Pass will be a hard sell once the acquisition is complete. The idea of paying one monthly fee, even with a slight premium for World of Warcraft access after, say, three months for no extra charge, is a whole lot more appealing.

Charging a subscription makes sense, of course, given the amount of ongoing development necessary for World of Warcraft compared to other static games that may have been untouched for years–subscription fees partially pay to keep the game going. But when you’re a company with nearly bottomless pockets that is looking to continue expanding the reach of its platform, it wouldn’t be the end of the world to take a hit on World of Warcraft. A premium “Game Pass for PC Plus World of Warcraft” tier could even help bridge the gap, offering a discounted rate for a subscription if players also become Game Pass members.

We’ve already seen plenty of people calling for World of Warcraft to come to Game Pass since the acquisition was announced earlier this week, but it’s not the current World of Warcraft players hoping for a discount who are the biggest factors here. Just like with the rest of Game Pass, it’s the casual player surfing through the service’s library who could really increase the game’s community size.

If you have a Game Pass membership, how many times have you scrolled down the pages of game tiles, found something that looked interesting, and downloaded it without so much as a second thought? How many times did that end up becoming the game you played for the next several weeks? The barrier of entry becomes almost nonexistent with Game Pass, and the potential for hobby-level play in World of Warcraft is extremely high. I should know, as prior to kicking the habit (it truly was an addiction for me, so I won’t be joining any newcomers this time), I played almost no other games for two years. I didn’t have the money for games other than WoW, and Game Pass didn’t exist yet to make it easier to explore other possibilities.

To Game Pass we go

Now, all of this “bring World of Warcraft to Game Pass” talk sounds great, but there’s a limit: It only makes sense for the PC version. World of Warcraft has never come to consoles, and Microsoft’s acquisition might make it seem like the perfect time to bring the game to Xbox. But it would also come with its own financial costs to port the game, no guarantee that it’s a success like the PC version, and the challenge of making the game work together between console and PC. With PC players accounting for more than 1 billion people worldwide, why try to shoehorn the game onto another platform?

Luckily, Microsoft seems to understand that some games are just not supposed to be on a console. The Age of Empires series has seen a resurgence in recent years, including Age of Empires IV releasing in late 2021. But the game was only released for PC, because that’s where the game works.

Xbox Game Pass, as well as Game Pass for PC, have succeeded not just for the savings they offer players who might not otherwise buy full games, but for the ease of access they give us to try new experiences. Those who became longtime World of Warcraft players understand that just a little bit of time with the game can turn you into a long-term fan.

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Despite Call Of Duty’s New Anti-Cheat Efforts, Hackers Are Flying Cars In Warzone

While Call of Duty: Warzone‘s Ricochet anti-cheat has been recently praised for keeping cheaters at bay, hackers are now flying cars around Caldera and Rebirth Island to rack up easy kills.

Call of Duty players have dubbed the flying cars as the “Harry Potter meta” in Warzone, and this isn’t the first time land vehicles have gone airborne in the battle royale. Cheaters used this tactic to disrupt matches on Warzone’s Verdansk map last year, using hacks to turn the game’s vehicles and ATVs into flying machines.

As seen in the tweeted clip below, a team of cheaters are cruising the skies of Caldera in one of Warzone’s ground vehicles. The aerial view offers them a great vantage point for seeking out targets. Flying cars can be both a huge distraction and a hard cheat to counter, especially if the hackers manage to creep back into Warzone with the usual tricks of aimbot and wallhacks.

I GUESS THERES FLYING CARS WITH CHEATERS ON THEM LMFALFJMKSAJGFKNGKNG pic.twitter.com/0jm1n2TkUG

— Thomas (@IntechsTV) January 19, 2022

Reddit user Seanfitz12 shared a clip of a flying car during a match on Rebirth Island. “The Harry Potter car isn’t funny after all,” they said. Gameplay shows the player looting up in a house, where a flying car crashes into the building’s exterior and still manages to kill the player inside.

In the initial announcement of Ricochet, Activision said the anti-cheat is multi-layered, including the use of machine-learning algorithms to examine gameplay data from the server. This is supposed to help to identify suspicious behavior trends that pop up, thus evolving the efficiency of the anti-cheat. And hopefully, Ricochet will quickly be able to catch on and boot the hackers who fly jeeps around Warzone.

Call of Duty players have been having a rough time with bugs and performance issues in Season 1, so hackers are just adding to the frustrations. With reports of game freezing and a host of bugs, Activision has delayed the start of Season 2 for Vanguard and Warzone. The publisher said the extra time will allow developers to bring quality-of-life updates to improve the state of Vanguard, Warzone, Black Ops Cold War, and even 2019’s Modern Warfare.

It’s uncertain how the change will impact Call of Duty, but Microsoft has acquired Activision Blizzard–pending regulatory approval–in a deal to be valued at nearly $70 billion. Activision Blizzard has been struggling as of late with employee walkouts and lawsuits and other investigations related to alleged sexual harassment and discrimination against women.

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Save $150 On The PS5’s Best Internal SSD

The PS5’s internal storage leaves much to be desired. With just 667GB of usable space, it doesn’t take long before you’re uninstalling old games and scrounging around for every bit of available space. Thankfully, Sony makes it easy to install your own internal SSD, and Newegg is currently discounting our favorite 2TB drive.

The PS5 requires a fairly high-end SSD with fast speeds, and the Samsung 980 PRO M.2 NVMe SSD ticks all the right boxes. When installed properly, you’ll experience speeds that are almost indistinguishable from the console’s built-in SSD. And since it’s manufactured by Samsung, you’ll know that you’re getting a reliable drive that’s built to last.

If you don’t need the full 2TB SSD, Newegg is also offering discounts on the 1TB, 500GB, and 250GB versions of the SSD. The savings aren’t as dramatic as they are on the 2TB model, but it’s great to see the entire family available at a discount.

Not sold on the Samsung 980 PRO? Consider checking out our list of best SSDs for PS5.

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Microsoft’s Buyout Of Activision Criticized By World Bank President

The president of the World Bank has spoken out to express concern about Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. During a speaking event this week that was reported on by Reuters, World Bank president David Malpass said the deal is a bad look at a time when many parts of the world are struggling with debt and other issues.

The World Bank is a global financial group that works to reduce poverty around the world by providing loans and other financial opportunities to countries and places in need. Malpass said the purchase price Microsoft intends to pay for Activision Blizzard is factors more than the latest International Development Association budget to help some of the poorest countries in the world.

“I was struck this morning by the Microsoft investment, $75 billion [Ed. note: the purchase price is actually $68.7 billion], in a video gaming company at a time when, to put it in perspective, the entire IDA20 commitment that we were just able to achieve in December was $24 billion spread over three years. That’s $8 billion per year to 75 of the poorest countries. $8 billion, compared to a $75-billion, single-shot investment in a gaming company. And you have to wonder–‘Wait a minute, is this the best allocation of capital?’ This goes to the bond market. Huge amounts of flows are going to the bond market, and basically that’s a very small portion of the world that has access to bond financing.”

Malpass went on to say that the rich are only getting richer with this deal and that he would rather see more money provided to help poorer countries.

“In order to address the refugee flow, that malnutrition that’s going on, and so on, there has to be more money and growth flowing into the developing countries,” Malpass said.

Malpass has been the president of the World Bank since 2019. Before that, he worked in the Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Donald Trump administrations.

Microsoft’s proposed deal to buy Activision Blizzard is expected to go through in Microsoft’s FY2023, which runs July 2022-June 2023, pending regulatory approval and other factors. It is Microsoft’s largest-ever acquisition by a large margin and the biggest video game buyout in history based on the price.

In other news, Sony has responded to Microsoft’s move, saying, “We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractural agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform.”

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Battlefield 2042 Adds Zombies Mode For A Limited Time

Battlefield 2042 has added a new, community-made mode themed around zombies. Called Zombie Survival, the mode was created by user StoneMountain64 and has teams of four human players fighting against waves of “zombies” and duking it out to survive until rescue arrives.

The zombies are actually other AI soldiers in terms of their character models, but they cannot sprint and they only use knives to attack. They are especially deadly in groups. If a human player dies, your team needs to reach a set amount of zombie kills to redeploy. The mode is set on smaller sections of maps from Battlefield 2042, Battlefield 3, Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 1942.

New featured experience in #BattlefieldPortal.
“Zombie Survival” 🧟
🪖 4 man squad.
💀 Rack up the most kills vs infinite zombies (AI).
🪦 If you die, your squad must reach “X” zombie kills to buy your freedom.
🗺️ 1942, BC2, BF3 and 2042 maps.
🗓️ Available until January 27th. pic.twitter.com/qhLjyHf67S

— Battlefield Bulletin (@BFBulletin) January 20, 2022

Zombie Survival is a limited-time event, and will be available until January 27. It’s available in Battlefield 2042 through the Battlefield Portal menu. Portal is Battlefield 2042’s mash-up mode that allows players to create custom gametypes that can even feature content from multiple different Battlefield games.

It’s been a big day for Battlefield 2042, as the game’s big new 3.2 update has now arrived–see the patch notes here. After this, another new update will introduce a refreshed scoreboard UI, which is something that fans have been calling for since launch.

Battlefield 2042 was 2021’s fifth best-selling game in the US, though EA has not announced a specific sales number for the futuristic military shooter.

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