A new report from Tom Henderson indicates that Call of Duty 2023 will be unveiled in August, specifically on the first of the month, as of the latest information shared by the sources.
Henderson also revealed the current timetable all the way to the game’s launch. He reckons the first beta weekend for Call of Duty 2023 will go live on Friday, October 6th and last until Tuesday, October 10th, exclusively on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles due to Sony’s marketing deal with Activision. As in recent years, the second beta test should be open to every platform the following week.
Early access to the campaign should begin on Thursday, November 2nd on all platforms, with the official release date set for Friday, November 10th.
In early 2022, Jason Schreier suggested that there wouldn’t be a premium Call of Duty 2023 game, in what would have been the first break in the franchise’s yearly releases since 2004. At that time, he reckoned a new free-to-play online title would take its place.
However, Activision quickly informed fans that they did have ‘premium experiences’ on the way. In November 2022, Schreier said that would be an expansion to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II made by Sledgehammer Games.
This February, though, Tom Henderson’s sources mentioned Call of Duty 2023 would be a standalone premium release. The information was backed by Activision’s own statement that a full annual premium release would be available later in 2023.
Later in February, Schreier maintained Call of Duty 2023 would essentially be an extension of Modern Warfare II, with modes and maps expected to carry over from the previous installment.
Sledgehammer’s latest game was 2021’s Call of Duty: Vanguard. Set during World War II, the game wasn’t well received by critics or fans, leading to an underwhelming sales performance for the publisher.
According to Tom Henderson’s report, a Zombies mode should be available at launch. However, this is expected to be a different experience from the traditional Zombies mode made by Treyarch, which should make a comeback in 2024’s Call of Duty game developed by that studio.
At any rate, the Call of Duty 2023 premium game won’t be in the upcoming PlayStation Showcase event, rumored to take place on the week of May 25th.
