Worries Over Call Of Duty's Xbox Future Amid Battlefield Resurgence

With franchises such as Halo taking more of a back seat over the past few years, one former Call of Duty director is worried about what this could mean for the future of the hit FPS series.

In the early 2000s, Halo was up there with some of the best when it came to the FPS genre.

However, following the less-than-successful Halo Infinite back in 2021, the 343 Industries saga has taken more of a backseat in the battle of the FPS titles.

That has allowed both the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises to flourish but does the decline of the Halo series present an ill omen to others like it?

Well, it seems as though that is a major concern for Glen Schofield, the former Call of Duty director who reveals that he is “immensely worried” about the future of the series under Microsoft.

Best known for his work on 2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3), 2014’s Advanced Warfare, and 2017’s WWII, Schofield left the studio he co-founded back in 2019 before going on to work on The Callisto Protocol at Kraften.

However, in a recent interview with VGC at Gamescom Asia, Schofield revealed that he is uncertain if Call of Duty can continue to flourish under Microsoft, mostly in part to how the company has handled Halo over the years.

“I worry about it immensely, I really do,” he shared.

“Because what’s happening to Gears of War, where’s Halo… you know what I mean? And you look at EA, you look at these big companies, and I’m like where’s the Strike games? Where’s this game? And there’s so many that just fall by the wayside.”

He continued: “Unfortunately, once you’re assimilated by one of these companies, I think you take on some of their traits.

The other thing is, I don’t know, but I would imagine that the Call of Duty bonus system is out, and now you have theirs, and people are going to go ‘that isn’t that’.”

It is a valid concern but with the latest Call of Duty title, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, not set to launch until next month, it remains to be seen how the second game in the series since the Activision Blizzard acquisition took place back in 2023 is received.

For Schofield, his trepidation about the future of Call of Duty mostly comes down to the departure of key staff.

“I hate doing this, but since I left Sledgehammer, none of the games have been very good,” Schofield admitted.

“I mean, the last one [Modern Warfare 3 (2023)] was a 50. They still sell well. You know, that happens. You move. I always wonder ‘why did you take that guy out, it’s not going to work later’, and very few times does that work.

“They just aren’t as good. They aren’t the same. Treyarch’s still really good but you know… I feel like I got lucky. I feel like I was at the heyday of EA during my time there. I mean, it was a who’s who working there. And then when I got to Activision, I made Modern Warfare 3 (2011).

“As a matter of fact, Modern Warfare 3 was the last Call of Duty to win Action Game of the Year, and my other two games were nominated for it. But now, you know, you don’t see them.”

It is clear to see that Schofield still has a lot of love for the Call of Duty franchise, so it is perhaps no surprise that he is worried about his future.

Hopefully, Microsoft will prove him, and us, wrong.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is set to launch on 14 November 2025.