According to industry insider Marcus Sellers, the next Call of Duty is 'Black Ops 4,' coming from Treyarch. A post on Resetera reporting the rumor says:
"According to a source close to the development of the next Call of Duty game, the title will be Black Ops 4 and is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and most surprisingly, the Nintendo Switch. It is set in the modern era, like Modern Warfare, and will be grounded in realism. No more walking on walls like in Black Ops 3 or Advanced Warfare. Call of Duty: WWII gave new life to the franchise after the disaster that was Infinite Warfare, so this is an opportunity for Activision to get the series back on track after a number of lackluster Call of Duty titles prior to WWII.
"The Nintendo Switch version will be ported by a development studio who is familiar with the Call of Duty franchise. The Switch version of the game will support the game’s DLC like its counterparts and will feature the system’s unique HD Rumble and motion control options.
"Industry insider Marcus Sellars backs this up, tweeting the following regarding the game. Sellars predicted that a remastered version of the first Dark Souls would be ported to Switch as well as the latest Nintendo Direct date."
The game coming from Treyarch is no surprise, as that fits with the franchise's cadence. Their next game being "Black Ops 4" isn't too big of a surprise, as well, as the previous title was immune from the critical and financial regression that Advanced Warfare and Infinite Warfare were met with.
It's not a new rumor either, with analyst firm Cowen & Cowen dropping the prediction last year; interestingly but unrelated, they linked the prediction with another, downgrading Activision's potential rating for the first time in nine years with the expectation that the company's stock will drop.
That said, the new leak from Marcus Sellars may not be entirely trustworthy, given the limited scope of his own expertise and relatively shallow track record. He's a Nintendo analyst, with his only notable prediction being Dark Souls Remastered's Switch port, something that had been previously predicted by others.
It's also possible that this is just educated guesswork on his end, but that also leads back into why I'm taking this seriously. Regardless of the source's veracity, it's very likely that 2018's Call of Duty release is Black Ops 4.
Black Ops is a respected name, known for retaining its quality amidst mediocre releases; meaning, it's an especially profitable name for Activision to lean on. Further, players' reluctance in accepting enhanced mobility fueled COD: WWII's nostalgia factor. It's hard to dismiss the idea that "boots-on-the-ground" is a phrase that pushed the game off shelves. It worked last year, and it's a safe bet for this year.
With the Nintendo Switch's standout sales, it's actually pretty likely that we'll see Activision's staple franchise on the handheld platform. My point being overall here: none of these are unsafe bets.
This is a series of possibilities that, while mentioned in rumors, are very likely as is. People are chattering about what's likely; talking heads are repackaging their chatter as rumors, and those rumors are being re-served to the chattering masses as additional support. I'd definitely log out of this rumor mill if you're looking for solid evidence, but yeah, it's very likely that Black Ops 4 is coming this year. But it's no more likely than it was last month.
If you're looking forward to the next COD, Treyarch's track record is good enough that you'll probably like whatever they're cooking up. I definitely anticipate something pleasant will be announced in Spring.
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