Call of Duty writer Activision has issued a uncommon, if transient, remark to seemingly deny a declare it deliberate to launch a standalone Zombies recreation.
Earlier this week, Call of Duty leaker TheGhostofHope said on social media that Activision was prepping two separate Call of Duty video games for the launch of Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox console (at the moment anticipated to launch in 2027 on the earliest).
The declare described these two launches as “a conventional Call of Duty multiplayer and a standalone Zombies title presumably developed by Treyarch,” and likened their launch to when “Infinite Warfare and Trendy Warfare Remastered the place [sic] each launched collectively.”
That leak was then picked up by gaming weblog Dexerto, to which Activision has now responded utilizing its official Call of Duty social media account: “The rumor manufacturing unit working extra time,” Activision wrote. “This ain’t it.”
Activision sometimes doesn’t reply to rumors or hypothesis, making this intervention notable. That mentioned, the imprecise nature of the denial makes it unclear precisely which components of the unique declare Activision is now saying are unfaithful, or whether or not some aspect of this declare was true till plans finally modified.
On social media, Call of Duty’s response comes particularly in reply to a thread of tweets discussing the standalone Zombies title, and the declare it was being prepped as a launch title for Microsoft’s subsequent console.
The unique rumor advised that Microsoft’s shifting launch plans for its subsequent Xbox {hardware} had meant that Call of Duty: Trendy Warfare 4, the franchise’s most anticipated upcoming launch, would now not be a launch title for the next-gen Xbox, as apparently had been deliberate. Whereas not but formally confirmed, Trendy Warfare 4 is anticipated by followers to be this yr’s Call of Duty entry — however there’s completely no suggestion that Microsoft is planning to launch new consoles this yr.
Nonetheless, some sort of shakeup to Call of Duty’s forthcoming launch schedule is anticipated, following Activision’s current pledge to make important adjustments to the franchise following the underperformance of Black Ops 7. The writer has mentioned it should by no means launch again to again video games in the identical sub-brand (Trendy Warfare, Black Ops) once more, which means it should possible must give you different choices if it continues with an annual launch schedule.
As for Microsoft’s plans for brand new consoles, the corporate has confirmed it has recent {hardware} within the works on a number of occaisons. In 2024, former Xbox president Sarah Bond mentioned Microsoft was “shifting full velocity forward on our subsequent era {hardware}, targeted on delivering the largest technological leap ever in a era.” A yr later, the corporate publicly confirmed its partnership with AMD on its next-generation Xbox venture. However a current report advised that 2027 was now a conservative estimate for the corporate’s new {hardware} — which as a substitute might now arrive later.
Sony can also be reportedly contemplating delaying the launch of PlayStation 6 to 2028, or doubtlessly even later, as a result of ongoing AI-fueled chip disaster.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You’ll be able to attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social