With Call of Duty now under the Xbox umbrella, the franchise is primed to get even bigger. With the unveiling of the next Black Ops on the horizon, fans are already looking forward to the future. However, rumors of future games that circulated over the weekend have already been debunked.Ā
Dataminers Claimed Ghosts & Advanced Warfare Would Return
![Call of Duty MWII Ghost Team](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Untitled-design-39.png?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
On Sunday afternoon, two prominent dataminers claimed to have discovered the settings and developers for COD 2026 and COD 2027. In a since deleted post on X, Visceral and VondyIsPog collaborated to bring the first rumored details on these titles. The rumors took the community by storm, as the two have leaked things correctly in the past.
The pair alleged that Call of Duty 2026 would be an Infinity Ward title, which would resurrect the Call of Duty: Ghosts brand. They also claimed that 2027 would see Sledgehammer Games would release a new Advanced Warfare title, which they’ve seemingly already teased in Modern Warfare 3.
These Rumors are False
![](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/advanced-warfare-2.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
However, Tom Henderson debunked these rumors in an article for Insider Gaming. In the article, the industry insider reported that the information about the rumored titles was incorrect. Henderson states that these kinds of details cannot be sourced through datamining, and that the codenames are false. Since then, both Visceral and VondyIsPog have retracted their statements and apologized for putting out information without properly verifying it.
However, the order Activision’s studios are at bat is correct, per Henderson’s sources. Infinity Ward is currently scheduled to make another Call of Duty in 2026, with Sledgehammer following it up in 2027.
To me, rumors of a Ghosts game as Infinity Ward’s next title didn’t make sense. This “leaked” title was claimed to be a prequel to Modern Warfare (2019). It would certainly be interesting to see a new take on the sub-brand. Fans have been clamoring for one since the “Ghost Team” mission in MW2. However, Infinity Ward still has lots of story to cover and several cliffhangers to build off of from last year’s Modern Warfare 3 . Time will tell where the Call of Duty franchise goes next.
Published: May 13, 2024 08:27 pm