Rather than launching a new Call of Duty title in 2023, Activision is reportedly planning to instead release a premium expansion including new “campaign content” for Modern Warfare 2.
Word of new paid campaign DLC for Modern Warfare 2 was initially shared by Call of Duty leaker TheGhostofHope, who claimed it would arrive in the game’s second year (ie. 2023) and would be bundled with a 20th anniversary “greatest hits map pack” containing classic maps from the original 2009 Modern Warfare 2, as well as maps from across the series.
Following TheGhostofHope’s campaign DLC claims, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier stepped in to corroborate the news. “Next year [Activision Blizzard will] be selling new stuff for MW2”, he wrote in a tweet, “an expansion or something like that”. Although Schreier admitted he wasn’t “sure exactly what it’ll look like”, he claimed it would have “campaign stuff too”.
The expansion will reportedly arrive in lieu of a new mainline series entry for Call of Duty in 2023 - Schreier previously claimed next year will be the first time in just under two decades the core series skips an annual release “after a recent entry in the series failed to meet expectations”.
While an Activision statement released in reponse to that earlier story failed to deny Schreier’s claims, the publisher’s subsequent Q2 2022 earnings report revealed it was planning “new premium content” for the “Call of Duty ecosystem” in 2023. Some initially interpreted this to mean a new entry in the series was due next year after all, but a paid expansion for Modern Warfare 2 would fit that description too.
Whatever Activision’s plans for 2023 are, it’s unlikely the company will be ready to share more until after Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2’s release on 28th October.
Modern Warfare 2’s arrival marks the start of a busy period for the Call of Duty series. Battle royale spin-off sequel Warzone 2.0 is set to launch on 16th November, and Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile is due to arrive for iOS and Android some time next year.
