Activision's annual report gives the world an inside peek into how Activision sees the video games business and, more importantly, how well the company thinks its Call of Duty games are doing. What Activision says during its annual reports routinely forecasts future games, trends, and plans the company has, and the 2022 report is no different. In this article, we'll explain Activision's 2022 annual report that includes Call of Duty: Vanguard's performance, Modern Warfare II news, and more.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Failed to Meet Expectations
The biggest single takeaway from the 2022 report is how poorly Call of Duty: Vanguard performed. According to Activision, Vanguard failed to meet expectations "primarily due to [Activision's] own execution."
Activision continued on to say that Vanguard's "World War 2 setting didn't resonate with some of [its] community and [it] didn't deliver as much innovation in the premium game as [Activision] would have liked." This is something of an understatement, considering the widespread lack of enthusiasm for Vanguard's World War 2 setting and a total lack of major changes to the Call of Duty formula.
Related: The Chip Shortage Isn't Going Away: Why Consoles, Computers, and More Will Remain Expensive
The performance of Vanguard actually comes after a series of near-unbelievable successes for Activision, which may surprise some. Most already know that Modern Warfare (2019) was the most successful Call of Duty ever, and the massive influence of Warzone is pretty undeniable. But Black Ops Cold War was also a smash hit.
Many remember Cold War's relatively barren launch and the early comparisons of its graphics to Modern Warfare (2019) and summarily dismissed the game, assuming it would be a flop. However, Cold War has been rigorously supported for years and has continued to sell extraordinarily well long after its original release. By all accounts, Cold War is a hit, too.
Vanguard not only failed to meet expectations, but Vanguard's failure, according to Activision, played a major role in why the company saw a shocking drop of 50 million players across Call of Duty games in the past year, too. After all, Vanguard brought with it a major refresh to Warzone, which continues to not be well-liked.
Related: Why Call of Duty Is Failing, Losing Money and Players
According to Activision, the problems of Vanguard, its World War 2 setting, and its lack of innovation are key areas of focus for future releases, which doubtlessly refer to not just Modern Warfare II (2022) but also Warzone 2.
Modern Warfare II (2022) News
The release of Modern Warfare II (2022) approaches, and Activision is very much so putting all its eggs in this basket, pushing this return to Call of Duty's favorite setting alongside promising tons of innovation. According to Activision, Modern Warfare II (2022) will mark the beginning of the next major era of Call of Duty.
Activision isn't just saying this, either, as the company noted that over 3,000 employees are working together on Modern Warfare II (2022), which comes on top of the rumors that Modern Warfare II (2022) will include a third mode (the supposed DMZ mode) that had been in development since Modern Warfare (2019)'s development, the longest development cycle for a Call of Duty product ever.
Related: Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile Explained: Release Date, Cross-Play, Maps, and More
All of this, too, is in the context of the news that there will not be, for the first time ever, a premium AAA Call of Duty release in 2023. On top of that, Modern Warfare II (2022) is also planned to get two full years of post-launch support as opposed to the traditional one year. This kind of support even vastly outstrips a game like Black Ops Cold War, which has recieved year two content, but it has recieved significantly less content than it did during its launch year.
In every sense, Activision is gearing up for Modern Warfare II (2022) to be a huge game that's supported for years to come. And then, inevitably, Modern Warfare II (2022) will also tie into the upcoming Warzone 2, as well, which gives the game even more legs to stand on.
It's also important to remember Activision's announcement of its plans to launch CoD 2.0, a new era of Call of Duty support where there's more content, more involvement with the community, and essentially, a major change to the way Call of Duty games are handled, marketed, and supported, especially after release.
Related: Call of Duty: Warzone Is Broken and Won’t Be Fixed Without a Sequel: Warzone 2
The Future of Call of Duty
For many fans, Modern Warfare (2019) was an awesome return to form for the franchise that unfortunately came with a ton of design decisions and issues that ruined the fun for many even longtime players. Since, Black Ops Cold War felt like a step back for many, and Vanguard's reputation is mostly that of being a mess. Modern Warfare II (2022) is going to be the biggest Call of Duty game in years, almost by definition.
Considering all the changes in direction Activision has been talking about, it's hard to not feel a little bit excited. However, it's important to keep in mind the ever-looming acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft. Once the deal goes through, it's equally inevitable that the direction of the franchise, once again, will change as a new leader steps in.
With Activision-Blizzard's reputation, this likely won't be seen as any kind of bad thing, but suffice it to say that whichever direction Activision pushes into with Modern Warfare II (2022) may not be the larger direction of the franchise going forward, as least not for all that long.
Related: Sledgehammer Games Is Saving Call of Duty: Vanguard and Treyarch and Infinity Ward Should Take Note
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!