Call of Duty: Warzone 2 is set to release as a standalone sequel next year on Xbox Series X, PC, and PS5, despite Microsoft's planned acquisition of series publisher Activision Blizzard.
That's according to a recent report from Bloomberg, which claims that at least the next three games in the Call of Duty franchise will be released on PlayStation platforms. Those games are expected to be Modern Warfare 2, due out later this year, another game from Black Ops developer Cold War Treyarch, which is scheduled for 2023, and Warzone 2.
Following the announcement of Microsoft's agreed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, many suspected that Microsoft would quickly make future Call of Duty titles exclusive to its Xbox consoles.
Xbox boss Phill Spencer has addressed the issue, suggesting that upcoming titles will still release on PlayStation to honor "existing agreements" between Activision Blizzard and Sony.
Beyond these next three Call of Duty releases, however, the future of the series is unclear.
Sony's contractual agreements with Activision Blizzard are expected to be completed when the acquisition closes in the middle of next year. If Microsoft decides to deprive Sony of future Call of Duty games, Warzone 2 could be the last game in the series to be released on PlayStation.
(*2*)Analysis: cross-platform for now, but it won't last
Sony and Microsoft made it clear last week that upcoming Call of Duty games will not be exclusive to Xbox. In its first public response to the acquisition deal, Sony said it "hopes Microsoft will honor contractual agreements and continue to make sure Activision's games are cross-platform," while Spencer said it didn't want to "remove communities" from PlayStation.
This means PlayStation fans can rest easy for now, but the future may not be so bright. Once these contractual deals run their course, it would be safe to expect future Call of Duty titles to move to Xbox and only Xbox. Microsoft will be willing to strip Sony of one of the best-selling game franchises, so it can claim all the revenue from Call of Duty sales for itself and put its platform above Sony's.
This exclusivity could be partially implemented over time. Call of Duty games can be released on both platforms, with specific content - such as DLC, game modes and maps - reserved for Xbox, similar to exclusive content that PlayStation has enjoyed for several years. Or, Microsoft may be ready to take the immediate sales hit and make every ounce of Call of Duty Xbox exclusive in one fell swoop, just like it does with Starfield.
As for Warzone 2, there are no details on what the game will look like, but we can be pretty sure about a few features. First of all, it would be more than a little surprising if it wasn't free. Warzone was released in the free-to-play model, which quickly became the norm for the genre. Even PUBG Battlegrounds has recently become free-to-play and has seen huge growth in its player base thanks to it.
Other than that, the fact that the game is being described as a standalone sequel suggests that it will have few content tie-ins to its predecessor, so don't expect to carry over any of your skins or unlock this next game.