While this year’s Call of Duty is greatly expected to be a new Modern Warfare series entry, it also appears the familiar will be mixed with the new. According to a new report, Modern Warfare 4 may feature a free-to-play component, which would mark a strong departure for the series and a potential shift for the Call of Duty series moving forward.
This weekend, Kotaku posted a lengthy report that details the shift of development duties on Call of Duty 2020 from Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software to Treyarch. Apparently, Activision was not happy with the work of the two studios, who are next in line to release a Call of Duty game after 2019, and brought next year’s project to tried-and-true Treyarch. It also sounds as though Call of Duty 2020 will be Black Ops 5 and employ a unique approach, like a free-to-play business model for specific (or potential all) of its components.
But while players will have to wait until next year to see if the report is true, there are elements that could confirm its veracity this year. Apparently, this year’s Call of Duty, widely believed to be Modern Warfare 4, may feature a free-to-play component as well.
As of yet, the free-to-play component has not been finalized and there is reportedly some pushback from Activision on the business model. Free-to-play can be successful for games like Fortnite, but for Call of Duty, a series that has relied on the more traditional retail release plus season pass option, it would be a major change.
Still, if Modern Warfare 4 were to introduce a battle royale mode and make it free-to-play that might fit the bill. Many believe that Black Ops 4’s Blackout Battle Royale mode should have been free-to-play. At this point, the Battle Royale has its fans but is hardly competing with the likes of Fortnite or even Apex Legends.
Whether its lack of sales or stronger competition, it seems that Call of Duty is looking to change things up for this year and moving forward. Those changes may not be significant at first but by the time 2020 comes around, fans may be looking at a series that is a lot different.
Call of Duty 2019 is expected to be announced soon.