Call of Duty: Warzone sequel slated for 2023, but may be last installment on PlayStation, report suggests

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With Microsoft on the brink of acquiring publisher Activision Blizzard through a reported $lxx billion deal, many questions surrounding the future of the Call of Duty franchise have come up to the forefront. It does appear that some of these may have been answered, at least in terms of what fans tin expect for the next few years. A new written report has claimed that an agreement set in place before Microsoft's acquisition volition allow two more mainline titles and a sequel to the franchise's battle royale spin-off to release on PlayStation earlier 2024.

Per Bloomberg'due south Jason Schreier, sources close to the deal have alleged that Activision Blizzard had previously come to terms with Sony on releasing a Call of Duty annually for PlayStation (along with Xbox and PC) until at least the end of 2023. Even more striking, the partnership is said to besides revolve around a "new iteration" of Call of Duty: Warzone set to release past the end of next year. Although Schreier did not become into detail nearly whether this would be a new game entirely, it appears the battle royale could finally make its manner to next-gen consoles with the release of this purported sequel.

No matter, this written report does create skepticism whether Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and the rest of Xbox'due south executives will extend this agreement beyond its expiration appointment. Last week, Spencer confirmed that Xbox does intend to honor "all existing agreements" with Sony, simply it is clear now that the deal may non last as long every bit believed.

The report mentions that Microsoft'south plans for the franchise beyond these games are "hazier," equally the console creator will non only accept to make up one's mind whether the franchise will continue to be on multiple platforms merely likewise if it should carry on with its almanac release cycle. It was last reported that even Activision executives had recently questioned whether to extend the evolution periods of afterwards Call of Duty titles, despite releasing on a yearly basis since 2005.

Now, fans on PlayStation may be forced to expect for some other 18 months for any solid answers concerning Telephone call of Duty's future, as Microsoft'southward purchase of Activision Blizzard is expected to finalize in June 2023.

Related: Xbox Game Pass volition receive "as many Activision Blizzard games" as possible, says Phil Spencer