Will Microsoft's acquisition of Activision see Call of Duty return to its glory days?

Call of Duty is arguably one of the biggest and most successful franchises globally. However, Activision, the publisher, has been using the franchise as a revenue-fodder over the past few years.

The quality of the game has deteriorated significantly, leading to several dissatisfied fans for a long time now. Thus, a question that rises among franchise fans is whether the $70 billion acquisition of Activision by Microsoft might see Call of Duty finally go back to where it belonged.

Activision's way of handling this game has been extremely poor. They have been releasing a new COD every year for a while without any consideration of community feedback. This has put a massive dent in both the quality and the reputation of this beloved franchise.

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Microsoft could possibly put a stop to yearly Call of Duty releases by Activision

āṣCall of Duty is a franchise that is deeply rooted in players' minds worldwide, as this franchise provided something unique that no other FPS (first-person shooter) game could back in the day.

Games like Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops became landmarks in gaming history. Call of Duty was probably one of the first few FPS games that consisted of an engaging multiplayer accompanied by a deep and intricately written story.

Iconic characters like Ghost, Roach, Captain Price, and Alex Mason have all come from the same franchise. Even today, when gamers speak about them, they are filled with nostalgia.

However, Activision soon forgot what this franchise stood for. They saw that players love the game and thus can be used as a means to earn even more revenue. Thus, the annual release of titles under this same franchise became the norm.

Activision would pressure the studios to keep developing more Call of Duty games. As a result, the quality went downhill, leading to frustration amongst fans. Titles like Infinite Warfare and Vanguard lack the flavor of previous games within the franchise.

However, a few days back, Microsoft bought out Activision through a multi-billion dollar deal. This means that the latter and all the studios it handles, who are responsible for developing this franchise, will be controllable by Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios.

Now, the current state of this franchise is a well-known idea. Despite the revenue it makes, there is no denying that the games are tedious. However, to understand how much the development of this title can change, it is crucial to take a look at another major company that Microsoft took over.

Bethesda Game Studios was also acquired by Microsoft around a year back. Since the acquisition happened, the company has changed a lot in how they produce games. One of the most significant changes was the revival of Fallout 76, which was a disaster at launch.

Bethesda became much more open about their work, and their honesty was visible. They slowed down their development and listened to the community much more. The change is visible, and something similar can be expected from Activision.

In fact, Microsoft could look to put a brake on the development of Call of Duty just so that the studios have much more time to develop better games. Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Treyarch are highly talented studios, but Activision's management led to the poor quality of their titles.

Since Microsoft has taken over, it is possible that Activision will finally take a turn when it comes to Call of Duty. However, as reported, the takeover will take time. Thus, fans will have to wait for any change to finally take place.

Note: This article reflects the opinions of the author.