Activision turns to Infinity Ward to address declining Call of Duty player numbers

Activision has confirmed Infinity Ward is leading development of this year’s new Call of Duty game as well as new Warzone offerings while announcing declining interest in the shooter series on PC and console.

Call of Duty net bookings (sales) on console and PC declined year-over-year in the fourth quarter of Activision Blizzard’s financial year, which ended on 31st December.

Activision put this down to lower sales for Call of Duty Vanguard, which was led by Sledgehammer with a multiplayer and Zombies offering built by Black Ops developer Treyarch, versus 2020’s Black Ops Cold War.

Perhaps more worryingly for Activision, battle royale behemoth Warzone has seen “lower engagement”, which means fewer people are playing it.

Activision didn’t announce sales for Vanguard, nor player numbers for Warzone, but insisted fourth quarter in-game “player investment” on console and PC remained “well above” the level seen prior to the March 2020 launch of Warzone.

Could Call of Duty fatigue be setting in? Following Microsoft’s astonishing $69bn purchase of Activision Blizzard, executives are reportedly considering ditching the franchise’s annualised release schedule. Doing so would take the pressure off Call of Duty’s many, many developers, but would also perhaps give players a much-needed break.