What does Call of Duty's potential sabbatical from annual release practice in 2023 mean for the fanbase?

Activision is known in the gaming community for its iconic yearly releases of Call of Duty games, while other developers take a pause before bringing another addition to the franchise. However, this consistency in terms of releasing a new game for the same franchise every year also comes with a loss in quality.

Sub-par game quality is something that has been ongoing in the franchise ever since the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. This has continued with Vanguard as well, which has raised concerns about what the publishers will do with their upcoming title.

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Should Call of Duty take a break from its annual release trend?

Developing a game takes quite a bit of time as every one of those IPs goes through a lot of procedures. However, Activision has been persistent over the years and continues to deliver new shooter titles every year.

This doesn’t mean that Activision will not be releasing anything this year. Rather, it means that no new games will be released the following year.

Activision’s hastiness with its annual release window has cost the company a lot of reputation as its recent installments haven't met the expectations of players. This was even more visible when Activision released Call of Duty: Vanguard, which created major outrage in the community.

With reports coming in regarding a possible break from Activision's release trend, the community seems to have given positive feedback to the majority, and believes it to be a good choice.

The fact is that Activision’s poor sales of its shooter franchises over the last two years might have pushed the company to give players more quality-focused installments. However, these things are not confirmed and are only rumors, so these speculations might turn out to be false.

This year may also see the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2, providing Activision with ample opportunities to progress through these franchises. So, even if Activision decides to take a break from its release trend, players can stay stress-free as these games will see enough content over time.