The next Call of Duty will introduce a new sub-series to the franchise
Activision has announced that next year’s Call of Duty title will launch a brand new sub-series for the franchise, marking a significant shift in the game’s long-running structure. The confirmation came from Tyler Bahl, Activision’s chief marketing officer, in an interview with The Game Business, where he stated that the company has “already kind of laid the groundwork” for this upcoming sub-franchise.
This announcement follows the completion of two major Call of Duty sub-series cycles. The current 2026 release, Modern Warfare 4, represents the final chapter in the Modern Warfare sub-series—one of the franchise’s most popular spin-offs. It succeeds 2025’s Black Ops 7, which concluded the Black Ops sub-series after seven iterations.
Activision had previously announced plans to adjust its release strategy, moving away from the pattern of back-to-back releases within the same sub-series. The introduction of a new sub-franchise appears to be part of a deliberate rotation strategy designed to maintain freshness and variety within the Call of Duty brand while continuing to deliver annual or near-annual releases to its dedicated player base.