Activision Blizzard somewhat quietly released their Q1 2022 financial results today (they are no longer doing earnings calls in light of the pending acquisition by Microsoft) and their report provided some updates on some of the publisher’s various projects. On the CoD front, it’s been reconfirmed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will launch this year.
Meanwhile, the status of Warzone 2 is slightly less clear. Activision says “development on this year’s premium and Warzone experiences, led by Infinity Ward, is proceeding very well,” but it’s hard to parse if that means both Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 are slated for 2022 (rumors are Warzone 2 is a 2023 release). Take the statement how you will, but launching both in the same year would certainly make business sense, particularly considering the rumors that Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 are tightly linked, with both games featuring Colombian locales.
The Call of Duty teams delivered substantial gameplay improvements for Vanguard and Warzone in the first quarter. Development on this year’s premium and Warzone experiences, led by Infinity Ward, is proceeding very well. This year’s Call of Duty is a sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare, the most successful Call of Duty title to date, and will be the most advanced experience in franchise history. The new free-to-play Warzone experience, which is built from the ground-up alongside the premium game, features groundbreaking innovations to be revealed later this year.
We already know Diablo Immortal will be launching in June (on both PC and mobile), but Blizzard also provided an update on Diablo IV, which has entered company-wide internal testing.
Blizzard’s teams reached important milestones across its key franchises in recent months, and the second quarter represents the start of a period of planned substantial releases across Blizzard’s portfolio. […] Development on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 is also progressing well. Company-wide internal testing of Diablo IV is underway, and external testing of the player-versus-player mode of Overwatch 2 begins tomorrow (April 26).
Acti-Blizz also promises to unveil its first Warcraft mobile game in the “coming weeks.” There is also talk of expanding Warzone to mobile.
California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has filed suit against Activision Blizzard, alleging widespread gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment at the Call of Duty publisher. You can get more detail on that unfolding story here.
What do you think? Anything from Acti-Blizz’s upcoming slate you’re interested in playing?
