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Sledgehammer to develop 2021 Call of Duty game for next-gen systems

Joseph Yaden
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Sledgehammer Games is leading development on 2021’s untitled Call of Duty game, as confirmed by Activision (and relayed by VGC) on a recent earnings call. This marks the first time the studio is in charge of development since 2017’s Call of Duty: World War II.

Sledgehammer took to Twitter to celebrate the announcement by saying: “We’re so excited to be leading the charge on Call of Duty this year and can’t wait to share more.” This is noteworthy, as Sledgehammer was originally leading development on 2020’s Call of Duty game, but was reportedly removed from the project due to a litany of reasons including tension with Raven Software.

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We’re so excited to be leading the charge on @CallofDuty this year and can’t wait to share more. https://t.co/pMuaFybT1r

— Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) May 4, 2021

On the recent earnings call, Daniel Alegre, president and chief operating officer at Activision, said: “In particular, we are very excited for this year’s premium Call of Duty release.” Alegre also explained that Call of Duty 2021 is being built from the ground up with next-gen systems in mind, and with an emphasis on “stunning” visuals across a campaign, multiplayer, and a cooperative mode.

This year’s Call of Duty is “designed to both integrate with and enhance the existing COD ecosystem,” Alegre said, confirming that it will once again tie to the ever-changing Call of Duty: Warzone, much like Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare before it. Adding to that, Activision President Rob Kostich said: “If we look ahead for Warzone later this year, there’ll be some other really fun integration with the great work that Sledgehammer Games is leading for this year’s new premium release.”

Though this hasn’t been officially confirmed, multiple reports suggest that 2021’s Call of Duty will once again be set during World War II and is repoertedly code-named Call of Duty WW2: Vanguard. If it is set during World War II, that raises questions about how it will integrate into Warzone, which is currently set during the1980s.

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