Every year since 2005, Activision has released a new Call of Duty game. The giant game publisher has already confirmed that 2021 will see the release of a new Call of Duty game as well, and while an official reveal has yet to take place, reliable leakers have already let the cat out of the bag. If the leaks are to be believed, 2021's Call of Duty game will be called Call of Duty: Vanguard, and it will once again sport a World War 2 setting.
One leaker, Tom Henderson, has claimed to reveal numerous details about Call of Duty: Vanguard already. Besides its supposed World War 2 setting, Henderson has hinted at the game being in a troubled state, and has now suggested that it's going to be "held back" by older consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Call of Duty: Vanguard being a cross-gen game means that it won't be able to take proper advantage of the added horsepower provided by the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, but there is a big reason why Activision would make sure the game is available to play on as many platforms as possible.
As it stands, both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles are in short supply. The latest reports say that PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles may not be easier to find in stores until as late as 2022, and so limiting the new Call of Duty game to next-gen consoles would potentially cost Activision quite a bit of money. However, its supposed plan to do the same thing for 2022's inevitable Call of Duty game is more of a head-scratcher.
2021's Call of Duty: Vanguard hasn't even been announced yet at the time of this writing, so it may be a little early to be talking about the 2022 Call of Duty game. However, the rumor is that the 2022 Call of Duty game will be developed by Infinity Ward. It will presumably be a sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, but again, nothing has actually been confirmed. One would think that 2022 would be far enough out for Activision to let 2022's Call of Duty to be next-gen only, but Henderson says that isn't necessarily the case.
This may be disappointing news to some fans, but if they take a look at how Activision handled cross-gen releases in the transition from the PS3/Xbox 360 era to PS4/Xbox One, it won't come as a surprise. Call of Duty: Ghosts, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 were all released as cross-generational games. The first PS4 and Xbox One-only Call of Duty game didn't come until 2016's Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, and so if the pattern keeps up, maybe fans can expect a proper next-gen Call of Duty game with 2023's entry.
This doesn't mean that the new Call of Duty games won't have advantages on the new consoles, however. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War supports ray-tracing and 120 FPS gameplay on PS5 and Xbox Series X, and so fans can expect those upgrades in Call of Duty: Vanguard and 2022's Call of Duty as well.