Despite this, it was widely reported that 2023 would see no new Call of Duty title, giving the recently released Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 an unprecedented two-year life cycle. Of course, many were surprised at this ambitious breakage of such longstanding franchise traditions, however recent developments in the way of leaks and reputable rumors may indicate that the CoD franchise still has ambitious and unpredictable plans.
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Full Premium Call of Duty Release in 2023
One of the overarching points of discussion for the recently released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was its supposed two years of uncontested dominance as the forefront premium release of the hugely popular franchise. However, recent financial reports from Activision itself may indicate a different reality from what fans were initially led to believe.
Back in November 2022, Activision issued a financial release that briefly outlined the company’s plans for the CoD franchise in 2023, which included the likes of comprehensive live-service additions as well as brand-new free-to-play experiences for the title. As well as this, the financial release surprisingly indicated Activision’s intention to launch the “next full premium release” in the franchise. Of course, nothing is known regarding the setting or content of this mystery title yet, but some have theorized that this could simply be in reference to a huge DLC expansion for Modern Warfare 2, which may be so expansive that it is classified as a premium release in and of itself.
Modern Warfare 2 DLC
With the aforementioned hints towards the “premium release” being additional content for MW2, it is important to note that there are already several reported leaks and rumors regarding upcoming content for the fresh title. Many are speculating that a large portion of this DLC will be a comprehensive expansion to the campaign of Modern Warfare 2, marking a franchise-first for additional story content post-launch in Call of Duty.
Another major DLC for Modern Warfare 2 that is expected to release in 2023 concerns the game’s popular multiplayer mode. More specifically, 2023 is supposedly set to see a huge map pack be introduced to Modern Warfare 2, being comprised of the most memorable and iconic maps from the 2009 franchise title of the same name. While maps have usually been added for free with seasonal updates in more recent CoD titles, it seems that Modern Warfare 2 may revert to the previous franchise philosophy of huge map bundles as paid DLC.
Warzone 2 Content
As well as developments for Modern Warfare 2, there have predictably been several leaks and rumors regarding the free-to-play battle royale Warzone 2. The original Warzone went through several tweaks and changes over the course of its life cycle, and so it is no wonder that many of the alleged changes that may come to Warzone 2 in 2023 are quite comprehensive.
The recently delayed Season 2 of Warzone 2 was long rumored to include a brand-new smaller-scale map to host the sequel’s version of the popular Resurgence mode from the first Warzone, with this now being officially confirmed by Activision itself. It can be assumed that Warzone 2 will face several changes to its map roster in 2023, much in the same way that the original game did during its first year of launch.
As well as these changes, it is strongly rumored that Warzone 2 will undergo significant weapon balancing changes in the near future. With the likes of the Fennec 45 submachine gun completely dominating the current meta of the game, it is clear that changes need to be implemented to weapon balancing as a top priority. While many of these leaks and rumors are subject to change, it remains that fans have a lot of upcoming content to look forward to in 2023 for the Call of Duty franchise.
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