Today is a big day for gaming as Blizzard, Infinity Ward and Rockstar have confirmed that new titles are in development for Call of Duty, Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto as well as a new intellectual property in the works from Blizzard!
None of the titles have had their names confirmed, which indicates that development is still in the early stages, but the announcements share details that may be a sign that big things are ahead.
New Grand Theft Auto in development!
According to this tweet and community post by Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto’s newest entry is being actively developed and progress is “well underway”.
Bear in mind, Grand Theft Auto 5 was released in 2013; it’s nearly a decade old! I was in secondary school (high school and middle school) when it came out! I suppose it’s better late than never but I’m surprised they have been able to keep this entry going for so long.
With this in mind, I think most players are glad we’re getting a new entry as apathy and discontent amongst the fanbase was prevalent. The lackluster anti-cheat aside, players were getting frustrated at GTA Online’s increasing absurdity with vehicular combat domination and had probably exhausted their playthroughs of the single player story.
Adios, Los Santos!
Warcraft on mobile and more!
In a report from Activision’s investor portal, Blizzard had announced that they would be looking to provide “new experiences” in the Warcraft and Hearthstone franchise, including “all-new mobile Warcraft content” for the first time.
They have also mentioned that they are making strong progress on new experiences for Warcraft, and development on Diablo, Overwatch and a new IP.
Historically, mobile announcements haven’t gone well with Blizzard players. However, popular WOW streamer Asmongold suggests that if core gameplay elements like raiding are not transferred to mobile, companion apps such as pet battles, a portal for covenant related “chores” as he calls it or an entirely new mobile Warcraft game set in the same universe, would be a welcome addition.
The condition for the latter’s existence is that he does not want a “gacha” style, lucky draw system to obtain characters.
As for the new IP, Blizzard had already previously announced that they would releasing a survival game and so this post likely refers to that. Whilst I would have preferred more specific news about what work had been done on the title, confirmation that the project still ongoing is nice.
Overall a decent showing from Blizzard.
Activision’s most ambitious Call of Duty yet
In the same post, under Activision’s heading, the company claims that Infinity Ward is developing a new Call of Duty title.
the most ambitious plan in franchise history, with industry-leading innovation and a broadly appealing franchise setting.
Activision 2022
This is quite the bold claim, but is necessary since they have confirmed that they experienced “lower premium sales for Call of Duty: Vanguard versus the year ago title and lower engagement in Call of Duty: Warzone™“, clearly showing a decline in interest in the franchise.
Common complaints are that recent titles have become too similar to each other and there has been little if any development on gameplay mechanics and setting. Modern warfare, the Cold War and World War 2 are topics that the franchise and genre has done to death.
So the question is, what kind of Call of Duty game would be ambitious, innovative and would feature a setting that is beloved by many? My personal speculation is that the series would go into a Cyberpunk setting as it fits the bill. The franchise has explored futuristic settings before, but not with transhumanism themes like that of Ghost in the Shell.
The new gameplay mechanics that would come with this setting would certainly be ambitious, for example, options like being able to customise cybernetic augmentations would be innovative in the genre and franchise. The cyberpunk world has tons of demand but almost nothing in supply in first-person shooters.
We shall see if Activision delivers on this front, but at the very least they have understood the negative feedback.
Are you looking forward to the new releases? Do you have any doubts? Go wild with your thoughts in the comment box!
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