Call Of Duty Is Finally Ending Its Annual Release Schedule, Says Insider

Following Microsoft's historic acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a number of developers at the publisher are reportedly talking about the possibility of finally moving Call Of Duty away from its annual release schedule.

As I'm sure you're aware, Activision has released at least one new Call Of Duty game every year for most of the franchises' existence. Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games share a three-year development cycle, while studios like Beenox, Raven Software, and Toys For Bob lend their support across all titles.

The upshot of this grueling schedule is that the vast majority of studios under Activision Blizzard spend all of their time on Call Of Duty. If you're wondering why the guys who made Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time never got the chance to make Spyro 4, it's because they were drafted in to make Call Of Duty: Warzone more... shootier, I guess.

But there is light on the horizon. Multiple Call Of Duty developers are now hopeful that the series can ditch the messy annual release schedule that has plagued the series for so long.

Bloomberg reports that a number of "high-level employees" at Activision are considering big changes to Call of Duty's current status as an annual franchise. The developers believe that this is a much-needed step in helping Call Of Duty return to form following a handful of disappointments. Call Of Duty: Vanguard sales were the worst the franchise has seen in over a decade, while Modern Warfare and Warzone are currently in an awful state.

With the Microsoft/Activision buyout yet to get over the line, the future of Call Of Duty is completely up in the air. We do know that Xbox boss Phil Spencer wants to keep the series on PlayStation, and that he's excited to revive a number of classic Activision franchises.

Personally, if not getting Call Of Duty once a year is the price to pay for a new Crash Bandicoot or Spyro game? I'll gladly pay it.