Call of Duty’s development structure ‘won’t change under Microsoft’

Activision has claimed that Call of Duty’s development structure hasn’t changed under new owner Microsoft, with up to 15 different studios working on the franchise.

In recent years, in order to keep up with the yearly release cycle of Call of Duty, Activision studios would trade off each yearly entry, meaning a studio could take up to three years to produce a game, rather than be expected to produce one each November.

Activision confirmed in 2021 that all of its core studios were working on the franchise. 

Now, speaking to the Washington Post, Matt Cox, senior vice president and general manager of Call of Duty at Activision, claimed that this hasn’t changed.

“When you look at Treyarch and Raven, they have a history of working together within the Black Ops franchise going all the way back to 2010,” Cox said. “You have this history with people you work with, and that ultimately shows when it comes to the finished product from a publishing and go-to-market standpoint.”

The latest entry in Activision’s shooter series, Black Ops 6, was released on October 25 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4 and PC. Notably, it was also the first Call of Duty to be available on Game Pass on day one.

Activision Blizzard drove a 43% jump in Xbox revenue during Microsoft’s first quarter, the company said this week.

Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 1 will launch on November 14, Activision announced on Tuesday. It will introduce “a colossal amount of free content” including multiplayer, Zombies and Warzone maps, the publisher teased.