The newest Call of Duty will debut at an upcoming Xbox event this summer, according to a report by The Verge.
The 2024 version of CoD will be the first for the franchise under the Microsoft banner after Activision was acquired by the tech giant in October 2023. Previously, CoD hosted its own events to debut the newest game.
The Verge’s Tom Warren reports that “Microsoft is in the middle of planning for its big summer Xbox showcase,” which he says will take place on Sunday, June 9, and Microsoft will announce a new Gears of War game there.
“A Gears announcement won’t be the only new Xbox game at the show, which will also include release dates for upcoming Xbox games like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Avowed, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and of course, a new Call of Duty that’s set to debut later this year,” Warren said.
In the past, Activision has used Call of Duty: Warzone in-game events to reveal new games, like last year’s playable event that featured the first trailer for Modern Warfare 3. Treyarch’s last CoD game, Black Ops Cold War, also debuted in Warzone.
Treyarch is likely the main developer for the new title, rumored to be called Black Ops Gulf War. Rumors also suggest the game will take place during the Gulf War, feature modern weapons and technology, have an open-world campaign, and mark the return of round-based Zombies.
A potential Xbox event doesn’t rule out a playable Warzone reveal, but it makes sense for Xbox to use one of its big new IPs to get eyes and viewers to tune in for the Xbox showcase to show off the reveal trailer, at the very least.
For the past couple of years, Activision has hosted CoD Next, an event featuring live gameplay of upcoming multiplayer and Warzone offerings, but another iteration for 2024 has not been confirmed just yet.
Update on April 5 at 3:50pm CT: A new report from Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson says that the new CoD will be revealed before the Xbox showcase “in a more ‘traditional fashion’ and outside of Warzone,” but then be featured during the show on June 9.
