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Call of Duty will still get ‘premium paid content’ in 2023, says Activision

Activision said that it will be planning to release “premium paid content” related to the Call of Duty series in 2023 following reports claiming no new Call of Duty game will release next year.

Official Dark Water Level Gameplay - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

Bloomberg reported that mainline Call of Duty games are taking a year off in February 2023. If true, this will mark the first time in 18 years that Activision has ever skipped an annual release. Despite that, it appears that Activision still plans to release some premium Call of Duty content in 2023.”Across the Call of Duty ecosystem, the teams are well positioned to support these launches with substantial live operations while also continuing development of new premium content planned for 2023 and beyond,” Activision said in a statement in its Q2 2022 earnings report.

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While it’s possible that the reports are wrong, Bloomberg writer Jason Schreier tweeted he expects the new premium content will be added to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II in 2023. That game is scheduled to release on October 28, while Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is slated for this fall. The mostly scenario is that this “premium content” for Call of Duty is paid DLC, which was present in most games throughout the franchise but has been notably absent for some time.

Currently, the main form of DLC in Call of Duty games comes in the form of store bundles and battle passes. Battle passes differ from traditional DLCs in that they’re offered to the player with additional content within the game instead of as a separate purchase after the game’s release. The last Call of Duty game to have some semblance 0f a traditional DLC structure was Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, but it’s possible that will change next year.

Activision reported that its second-quarter revenue and operating income dipped year-over-year due to low engagement with Call of Duty, but rose again in the first quarter. Engagement with the franchise is expected to rise even more with the release of Modern Warfare II and the Warzone 2.0 expansion later this year.

Cristina Alexander
Gaming/Mobile Writer
Cristina Alexander is a gaming and mobile writer at Digital Trends. She blends fair coverage of games industry topics that…
Black Ops 6 might be the biggest Call of Duty release ever
Soldiers near a train in Black Ops 6.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is on track to be the most successful Call of Duty release in the franchise's history thanks to a record-breaking launch, according to Activision and Microsoft.

The companies revealed that Black Ops 6 had the biggest three-day opening for the series by many metrics. It had the most players, most hours played, and the most total matches, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter). The game also got a shout-out during Microsoft's quarterly earnings call on Wednesday.

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The basics still apply

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The best Wildcards in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Kill Order gameplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

The concept of a Wildcard might sound like a risky endeavor in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, but this part of your loadout isn't random at all. We haven't seen this system since Cold War, and even those who remember it from that game will need to learn all the new cards there are in Black Ops 6. You can only equip a single Wildcard on your loadout, but they are powerful enough to completely redefine your playstyle. So far, there are only six to unlock while grinding through the levels with your friends, but picking just one is still a tough choice, especially if you want to use a permanent unlock on one after hitting Prestige. We've ranked all the Wildcards in Black Ops 6 so you can always have the winning hand.
All Black Ops 6 Wildcards, ranked

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Perk Greed - Level 54
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Gunfighter - Level 33
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Overkill - Level 24
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Prepper - Level 45
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Danger Close - Level 38
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