The future of Call of Duty is, possibly for the first time in years, uncertain. What has been an unwavering constant of the yearly AAA cycle, the annual CoD release, is no longer an absolute guarantee ever since Microsoft announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard. All bets are, for better or worse, off. Even so, at such a turbulent time, some pretty convincing leaks about a "Warzone 2" have reared their heads.
Ever since the new of the merger broke, some statements have been made to give fans reassurances - like Microsoft committing to keeping CoD on the PlayStation, at least for the next few years. It isn't clear how Microsoft will change the release model, if at all, or to what degree the acquisition deal will affect projects currently under development.
This is a rather interesting and tumultuous time for leaked news of a perhaps unexpected sequel to make the rounds. A staple of Call of Duty ever since the Modern Warfare reboot, Warzone has perhaps even eclipsed the main games in relevance and popularity.
The free-to-play battle royale built upon the foundations laid by games such as PUBG and Fortnite, but rose to rival both and come one of the 'greats' of the genre. Its popularity and staying power has allowed it to outlast two main Call of Duty games already, and is still running concurrently - and with shared content - with Vanguard.
Since Warzone has made the jump year over year and kept up with the franchise twice already, it seemed like Activision was keen on keeping that streak going for as long as it could - this approach with live service games is hardly novel or unexpected. Just look at MMOs or titles like GTA Online.