This year's Call of Duty confirmed as Infinity Ward developed Modern Warfare sequel

eurogamer.net:

Following months of rumours, Activision — still reeling from shocking reports it fostered a company culture where sexual harassment, assault, and inappropriate behaviour were able to thrive — has confirmed this year's Call of Duty game will be a sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare.

Development will, according to an announcement buried at the bottom of Call of Duty's most recent community update, be handled by long-time Call of Duty studio Infinity Ward. The developer is also said to be working on a new Warzone «experience», both being designed together and both built from the «ground up» using a new engine.

The announcement of a new Warzone was also expected — Bloomberg reported a follow-up to the Call of Duty themed Battle Royale experience was in the works several weeks ago — but it remains a curious proposition. It is, after all, rare that free-to-play live service games — designed to be long-term investments for players — get sequels, and even rarer for it to happen barely two years into the first game's life.

This year's Call of Duty will be a sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare.

Exactly how this new Warzone will ultimately present itself — as an entirely self-contained sequel or as a continuation of the original game, with player progress being carried over — remains uncertain, with Activision only saying it would bring a «massive evolution of Battle Royale with all-new playspace and a new sandbox mode.»

Today's announcement follows a number of equally low-key reveals from Activision Blizzard in recent weeks — namely a new Blizzard survival game and a mobile port for World of Warcraft — and comes as the company still deals with the fallout of last year's State of California lawsuit calling Blizzard a «breeding ground for