No more back-to-back releases for Black Ops, Modern Warfare

16 December 2025

Activision will surely have imagined the ending of 2025 a tiny bit different. After a long wait, the Santa Monica-based game publisher finally released Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, one of the most heavily anticipated international esports titles of the year, only for it to be the subject of more than a little of criticism. And now, they have announced a drastic change to their release strategy, as well. We’re not sure whether it has to do with the underwhelming impact of Black Ops 7, but Activision recently let the world know that they will no longer do back-to-back releases for Blacks Ops and Modern Warfare games. The past four years, the company released a new instalment every year, but that strategy is changing from 2026 onwards.

Familiar release pattern

For studios like Activision, the release of a new game is one of the biggest and most important milestones they can achieve. That is especially true when it comes to the newest instalments of global esports powerhouses like Modern Warfare and Black Ops, both part of the Call of Duty universe. As a result, gaming publishers usually have a tried and tested approach to planning and scheduling new releases, and Activision’s approach was a known throughout the world of international esports.

As we wrote earlier, the company decided on a back-to-back release approach four years ago. In 2022, they released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III came out a year later. Then, in 2024, Activision released Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which was followed recently by the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Based on that schedule, Activision would be planning their next two Modern Warfare releases for 2026 and 2027, but that looks to be off the table now. At the same time, we have no idea yet what is actually on the table at this moment, as the publisher has not yet made any information available in that regard.

Activision in 2026

As a result of their latest announcement, the plans of Activision for 2026 are now largely shrouded in mist. The company has announced a break from its release strategy, but they did not say yet what the new approach will be. It could be that we get to see less frequent releases over the coming year, especially if the change in strategy is due to Black Ops 7’s bad reception, but for the moment, there is no indication of that. Activision does mention that there are “many reasons” for the change and that they want to provide meaningful content.

“We will no longer do back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games”, writes Activision in an official statement, “The reasons are many, but the main one is to ensure we provide an absolutely unique experience each and every year. We will drive innovation that is meaningful, not incremental. While we aren’t sharing those plans today, we look forward to doing so when the time is right.”