Call of Duty won’t release Modern Warfare or Black Ops back to back anymore

Future Call of Duty releases will no longer include back-to-back launches of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games, Activision announced on Tuesday. The past four releases in the series have been Modern Warfare II (2022), Modern Warfare III (2023), Black Ops 6 (2024), and Black Ops 7 (2025), but moving forward, Activision wants to offer “an absolutely unique experience each and every year,” according to a blog post.

Black Ops 7 came out in November to mixed reviews, and in Europe, the game had a “disappointing launch,” The Game Business reports. Ahead of the game’s release, Treyarch Senior Director of Production Yale Miller told CharlieIntel that he was worried about Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 being seen as too similar.

“We will drive innovation that is meaningful, not incremental,” Activision says. “While we aren’t sharing those plans today, we look forward to doing so when the time is right.” The post also notes that “the future of Call of Duty is very strong and we believe our best days are ahead of us given the depth and talent of our development teams” and that the “next era” of Call of Duty will “deliver precisely on what you want along with some surprises that push the Franchise and the genre forward.”