Call of Duty has been an annual thing since 2005 - which makes the news that 2023 being a Call of Duty Free Zone pretty big news. According to a new report over at Bloomberg, the Treyarch-developed entry is being pushed back to 2024 due to the most recent entry (Call of Duty Vanguard) failing to meet expectations.

Of course the planned 2022 release from Infinity Ward, a sequel to its Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot - is still on track. To fill the 2023 gap the report cites sources saying that the plan within Activision is to release a "free-to-play online title" among other projects to "fill in the gap". Apparently Treyarch will be helping out on that front too.

The report also indicates that the recent Microsoft acquisition was not the cause for the delay, but again, based on the idea that people and players are starting to grow tired of the annual release cycle for new mainline Call of Duty releases.

Either way, with more time to bake no doubt Treyarch will be able to deliver a more solid entry in 2024.

Update

Activision Blizzard has reached out to AusGamers regarding this story with the following statement, “We have an exciting slate of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year and beyond. Reports of anything otherwise are incorrect. We look forward to sharing more details when the time is right."