Highly anticipated: With the summer video game showcases just days away, publishers are expected to pull back the curtain soon on major fall releases such as Grand Theft Auto VI and this year's Call of Duty. Recent comments from CoD developer Infinity Ward stopped just short of confirming that the studio is behind the latest entry.
Infinity Ward studio heads Mark Grigsby and Jack O'Hara shared brief statements this week about the developer's next game, indicating that they plan to unveil the next Call of Duty title soon. The highly anticipated first-person shooter might debut during Sony's hour-long June 2 State of Play presentation or the Summer Game Fest on June 5.
A message on the studio's website and social media channels suggested it will reveal its ongoing work soon, describing it as a new chapter. During a recent PR interview, O'Hara confirmed that Infinity Ward is making "the definitive Modern Warfare," while Grigsby advised viewers to stay tuned.
– Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) May 21, 2026
O'Hara's comment appears to confirm rumors that the next Call of Duty title is Modern Warfare IV. Infinity Ward, Activision, and Microsoft likely hope this year's entry can repair the franchise's reputation after the disappointing performance of Sledgehammer's 2023 Modern Warfare III, and last year's Black Ops 7 from Treyarch.
The strain of releasing annualized sequels has left its mark on Call of Duty's two main sub-franchises. Infinity Ward reportedly aimed to follow up 2022's Modern Warfare II with an expansion pack the following year, but instead released Modern Warfare III, a full-priced sequel, to sharp criticism, partly due to its barebones campaign. The game's concurrent player count on Steam fell dramatically compared to its predecessor, and it received one of 2023's lowest user Metacritic scores.
Treyarch's Black Ops series suffered a similar fate. The studio released Black Ops 6 and 7 in 2024 and 2025, respectively, and the latter's Steam player count fell by 80% compared to Modern Warfare II. Complaints focused on its campaign, which primarily focused on co-op and didn't even let solo players pause.
Modern Warfare III and Black Ops 7 are also two of the only CoD titles to miss the top spot for US game sales in their respective years. The 2023 title lost out to Hogwarts Legacy, while Battlefield 6 outsold Black Ops 7, delivering EA's FPS franchise its first win in its two-decade rivalry with CoD.
The next Call of Duty title is expected to launch on a Friday in October for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and PC. Microsoft confirmed that the game will not launch on Game Pass. Activision previously confirmed that it will be the first entry to leave the PlayStation 4 behind.
Along with GTA 6, the next Call of Duty installment is expected to boost PS5 console sales this fall. Take-Two recently confirmed that GTA won't suffer another delay beyond its scheduled November 19 release date. Marketing is expected to begin soon, though at this point the title hardly needs it.