The 2027 entry in the “Call of Duty” franchise will launch a new subseries and will not belong to either the “Modern Warfare” or “Black Ops” line. Tyler Bahl, Activision’s head of marketing, confirmed the plan in an interview with The Game Business.

According to Bahl, the company had already hinted at the upcoming subseries and has begun laying its foundations. However, neither its new name nor the specific characteristics that will distinguish the game from the two major current branches of “Call of Duty” have been revealed yet.

New direction will follow “Modern Warfare 4”

Before the new subseries makes its debut, “Modern Warfare 4” is scheduled for 2026. It is described as the final chapter in this popular “Call of Duty” line. The previous mainline entry in the series was 2025’s “Black Ops 7,” the seventh installment in the franchise’s other long-running subseries.

This release sequence means that, after the “Black Ops” and “Modern Warfare” games, 2027 will bring a different title and a new identity within the series. For now, the official confirmation is limited to the decision to create a new subseries, so Activision has not yet introduced its story, characters, or gameplay features.

Activision is changing its release strategy

The creation of a new subseries aligns with Activision’s previously announced decision to stop releasing two “Modern Warfare” or two “Black Ops” games back to back. The company does not want to repeat the release pattern in which “Modern Warfare 3” immediately followed “Modern Warfare 2,” while “Black Ops 7” arrived after “Black Ops 6.”

Bahl acknowledged that the community did not want two installments from the same subseries to be released consecutively. The individual games offered different time periods, gameplay modes, and many new features, but according to Bahl, the audience wanted a more noticeable shift in tone.

The 2027 release will not belong to the “Modern Warfare” or “Black Ops” subseries and will begin a new “Call of Duty” line. It has not been confirmed whether the same rule against two consecutive releases will later apply to this new line as well.

The previous attempt was “Vanguard”

The last attempt to launch a new “Call of Duty” subseries came with 2021’s “Vanguard.” The game performed poorly and failed to establish itself as an ongoing franchise line. The 2027 project will therefore be another attempt to create a distinct name alongside “Modern Warfare” and “Black Ops” that could be developed further.

“Vanguard” was developed by Sledgehammer Games. According to unofficial information, the same studio may also be responsible for the 2027 game, but Activision has not confirmed its involvement. The studio’s name should therefore not be treated as an officially announced detail of the upcoming project.

The setting and new characters have only been mentioned in rumors so far

Unofficial information suggests that the new subseries could be set in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Rumors also mention a new setting and new characters. These details are not part of any presentation confirmed by Activision, so the direction of the upcoming game may still differ from the information currently being reported.

It is also unclear whether the first game in the new line will eventually receive a sequel and how clearly the new subseries will distinguish itself from “Modern Warfare” and “Black Ops.”