Activision has officially announced that the next Call of Duty game will be set in World War II.
Sledgehammer Games is developing Call of Duty: WWII. More information will be available during a live-streamed launch event on Wednesday, April 26. A promotional picture was released for the game with the brief announcement. A release date was not indicated, but Activision typically releases games in the Call of Duty series in November if a release notice is given in the spring. The announcement did not mention what platforms would be supported by the game.
The full statement says, “Call of Duty returns to its World War II roots with Call of Duty: WWII, developed by Sledgehammer Games. More details are incoming during the game’s Worldwide Reveal live stream on Wednesday, April 26 featuring Sledgehammer Games co-studio heads and founders Michael Condrey and Glen Schofield. Fans will be able to tune in to get a first look at Call of Duty: WWII and get intel on the studio’s vision for the game.”
2003 saw the first entry in the popular first-person shooter series, Call of Duty. That initial game was set in WWII, and the next four games were also set in WWII, ending with Call of Duty: World at War. Since that game, the series has been focused on other periods, including the 1960s and the future.
Sledgehammer was founded by former members of Visceral Games in 2009. Visceral is best known for sci-fi horror games like Dead Space. They had helped with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which was primarily developed by Infinity Ward. Sledgehammer went on to develop 2014’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which was received with generally positive reviews. Since that game’s release, Sledgehammer has been working on this new offering, Polygon reported.
Last month, marketing materials were leaked that indicated the series was returning to its WWII roots. In early February, Activision had said as much in a call with investors, without specifically mentioning WWII. The company noticed that Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, released last year, had not performed up to expectations and that the setting in the future did not seem to resonate with fans. The series has been set in the future since Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 in 2012.
Here is the VERY short teaser which has been released to advertise the reveal date.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC33X8ZmTcI