Call Of Duty’s Future Design Plans Emerge In Leaked Information

According to a new report, Microsoft has created a “new committee” in its Activision division that will make key decisions about the future of the Call of Duty brand. According to TheGhostOfHope, who has accurately reported on unannounced Call of Duty developments in the past, Microsoft’s new committee will listen to suggestions from Call of Duty studios like Treyarch and Infinity Ward, but ultimately the committee will decide “features” and “systems” to come in future games.

Hope went on to say whether or not a feature like Omnimovement continues beyond Black Ops 6 will be decided by committee, not by any one studio. The insider went on to say a Call of Duty developers are being told “not to innovate” in “UI, Prestige, and certain gameplay features.” Instead, studios are being asked to come up with new directions for things like “maps, modes, and storytelling.”

“That is where they want the creativity to come from,” Hope said.

For the UI specifically, Hope said Microsoft’s ambitions is to continue to attempt to make it “closer and closer to the old games.” As for Omnimovement, one of the developers at Treyarch said they hope it becomes a franchise standard going forward.

The reaction to Hope’s reporting has been mixed. Some are saying they can understand this way of planning–after all, Microsoft spent $75.4 billion to buy Activision Blizzard and understandably wants a seat at the table. Others are pointing out the pitfalls of designing products “by committee.”

Specifically, some are theorizing that the now-popular Zombies mode could have been cut if the decision came down to a committee. We can never know, of course, but it’s true that Zombies was a last-minute addition to Call of Duty: World at War and almost never happened.

GameSpot has contacted Microsoft in an attempt to get more details about this.

Black Ops 6 launched at the end of October and is breaking records. The Call of Duty series is historically an annualized franchise, and Microsoft has not signaled any change to that plan. As such, fans can expect a new Call of Duty in 2025; reportedly, it’s going to be a Black Ops 2 sequel.

For now, though, Activision is focusing on Black Ops 6’s seasonal content, which just kicked off with the debut of Season 1 on November 14. The next big release is the Citadelle Des Morts Zombies map in early December.