Skip to main content

‘Call of Duty: WWII’ will take the series back to an earlier era of warfare

call of duty ww2 leak 2
Call of Duty 2 Image used with permission by copyright holder
The Call of Duty series has tackled modern warfare, near-future warfare, and high-tech, futuristic space warfare in recent years, but this year’s game will return the franchise to its World War II roots with Call of Duty: WWII.

A “worldwide reveal” for Call of Duty: WWII is scheduled for April 26 at 10 a.m. PT on the Call of Duty website, which currently displays a countdown clock on its landing page.

Call of Duty: WWII is being developed by Advanced Warfare studio Sledgehammer. The game’s focus lines up with earlier statements by Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg that the series would be moving away from science-fiction settings.

Activision’s official confirmation comes weeks after the game’s subject and title were reported by Eurogamer. While we’ll have to wait for the reveal to learn more about the game, recent leaks have hinted at what to expect.

YouTube channel “TheFamilyVideoGames” received a series of apparent promotional posters for Call of Duty: WWII, including a shot of a group of American soldiers hiding behind tank traps on the beach at Normandy. That video has since been taken down. This would suggest a D-Day mission, which was previously seen in Call of Duty 2 back in 2005.

Another image seen in the video very clearly shows soldiers on the beach, with one holding an M1 carbine that was heavily used during the war by American troops, as well as a steel book featuring the title on the spine, and more tank traps and beach.

Call of Duty: WWII will be the first time the series has gone back to World War II since 2010’s Black Ops. That game featured a short section, told in flashback, that set the stage for the game’s 1960s-set story. Its predecessor, 2008’s World at War, was the last game set entirely during World War II, and split its time between the Russians’ European campaign and the American Marines’ struggle against Japan. The game was by far the most violent in the entire series, with dismembered corpses and copious amounts of blood highlighting the vicious, intense combat that took place during the war.

Call of Duty: WWII will launch later this year, and if Activision keeps with its longstanding trend, we can expect it to arrive in early-November.

Updated on 4-21-2017 by Steven Petite: Added Activision’s official confirmation details.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Does Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have Hardcore mode?
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 guy with a gun

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, players have access to a wide variety of multiplayer game modes including Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, and the new Prisoner Capture. One of the most popular modes in the series is Hardcore, which has been in the series for years. This intense mode removes the HUD and increases damage across the board. But does this mode appear in the new Modern Warfare 2?

Here's what you need to know about the Hardcore mode in Modern Warfare 2.
Does Modern Warfare 2 have a Hardcore mode?
When Modern Warfare 2 first launched, it didn't have a Hardcode mode, much to the disappointment of fans. Instead, the game had a mode called Tier 1, which was basically a rudimentary version of Hardcore mode, with some missing features. For instance, there's no HUD, whatsoever, no hitmarkers, and no killfeed, which made the mode hard to actually play in some cases. Thankfully, Activision finally did add Hardcore more at the start of 2023, replacing the Tier 1 mode from before.
What is Hardcore mode?

Read more
These 6 Call of Duty: Warzone Season 5 changes are a step in the right direction
Main character of Warzone Season 5.

The recent Call of Duty: Warzone Season 5 update included a slew of great changes, many of which were highly requested features. While the game still needs a bit of work, the changes introduced during Season 5 are certainly a step in the right direction.

There are a lot of little Season 5 changes to dig into. Some are subtle, but each one is doing its part to fix up the base game, which still struggles to reach the heights of its predecessor. From movement tweaks to perk changes, these are some of the best and most impactful changes introduced during Warzone Season 5.
Movement speed adjustments

Read more
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is official and it’s coming this November
call of duty modern warfare iii release date makarov mwiii

Activision has confirmed a November 10 release date for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III with a teaser trailer following a barrage of leaks.
The shooter, which is going to be a direct sequel to 2022's Modern Warfare II, was the subject of lots of reports and leaks prior to this announcement. Reports from Bloomberg revealed that this game was originally going to be a Modern Warfare II expansion, but it later got upgraded to a full game. Then, over the summer, more game details started to leak before some Monster Energy advertisements revealed the game's title prematurely. Activision coyly acknowledged this leak on Twitter at the time, but finally pulled the curtain back on the project today with a video titled "Modern Warfare III is Coming."
Modern Warfare III is Coming
It begins with some green soundwaves on-screen and a lot of radio chatter in the background. Then, the soundwaves turn from green to red before the perspective then pushes into them, creating a trippy red void. In there, we briefly see waveform images of a snake and Captain Price before he says, "Never bury your enemies alive" over the silhouette of a new character. This is believed to be Vladimir Makarov, the villain of the original Modern Warfare trilogy, who was teased in the post-credit scene for last year's campaign. After all of that, the title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is confirmed, as is the release date of November 10.

This date falls right in line with the late October to early November window in which Call of Duty games usually come out. It also places its launch after Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition is expected to be complete, so it looks like this may be the first Call of Duty game released under Microsoft. Other than that date, official details on the game are fairly scarce. Thankfully, we shouldn't have to wait too much longer to learn more.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III launches on November 10. 

Read more