The excitement for the forthcoming release of Modern Warfare has barely kicked in, but we’re already hearing rumours about Call of Duty 2020. Murmurs doing the rounds already about Call of Duty 2020 point to a Cold War-era Black Ops 5 — or Black Ops reboot — that could take us on the ground during the Vietnam and Korean wars.
Back in May we first heard about sudden changes to the three-pronged Call of Duty developer cycle, with Treyarch, developer of 2018’s Black Ops 4, set to take over development of Call of Duty 2020, with Sledgehammer Games (Call of Duty: WW2) and Raven to offer support.
Dating back to 2012, Activision has used a three-pronged approach to development for Call of Duty, with Modern Warfare developer, Infinity Ward; Treyarch, and Call of Duty: WWII developer, Sledgehammer Games, each taking a year’s offering of the famed franchise.
With Infinity Ward taking the lead this year with Modern Warfare, Sledgehammer was expected to take over next year’s effort, alongside Raven, which has long been a Call of Duty “helper” of sorts to spread development.
Reportedly, Sledgehammer and Raven had teamed up for Call of Duty 2020, with the Cold War acting as the base narrative driver for the game. As it stands, however, that won’t come to fruition next year, and Black Ops 5 looks to be the most obvious release in 2020.
Further, the Sledgehammer game appears to have been ditched completely, with both Raven and Sledgehammer expected to help Treyarch on Black Ops 5, which will now contain its own Cold War-set single player campaign.
These rumours have amped up in recent days, with LongSensation on Twitter, a known Call of Duty leaker, saying that Call of Duty 2020 will have one of two names: Black Ops, likely to be a reboot, or Black Ops 5, a straight-up sequel.
They also say that the game will be set during the Cold War, spans the entire 40+ years of the conflict, and will include both Vietnam and Korean Wars.
“Described as even more gritty and gruesome than Modern Warfare,” they say.
There’s been no confirmation or comment either way from Activision or any of the reported developers involved, which is understandable given Modern Warfare hasn’t even been released yet. Nonetheless, it shapes to be an important 12 months for the Call of Duty.
What are your thoughts? Would you like to see a new Black Ops entry, or series reboot? Sound off in the comments below!
