The next Call of Duty could be just over a month away from its debut, according to a cryptic new post by Xbox today.
Xbox revealed that a new Direct showcase will take place after the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9, and all signs point to the [REDACTED] game being the next entry in the long-running FPS franchise, rumored to be titled Call of Duty: Black Ops Gulf War.
The teaser for the [REDACTED] direct shows off a three-headed dog, or Cerberus, which just so happens to be the internal codename for CoD 2024, according to reports that go as far back as February 2023.
Not only that, but the orange coloring of the Cerberus in the image is extremely reminiscent of the Black Ops franchise. Couple that with the [REDACTED] moniker that CoD and the Black Ops series love to use, along with the U.S. Capitol Building seen in the background, and it sure seems very CoD-ish.
Last year, Xbox dedicated an entire Direct showcase to Starfield, its biggest game of the year. With CoD likely now its biggest game of the year—and all years following—after Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, it makes sense that the company would want to dedicate a lot of time to it, too. Last year’s Starfield Direct ran for 45 minutes, as a comparison.
With CoD being one of the highest-selling franchises year in and year out, Microsoft will likely lean heavily into it for marketing this year. It’s most likely that a trailer will premiere during the Xbox Games Showcase, with the Direct to follow with a deeper dive into gameplay and features.
In years past, CoD ran its own showcases and reveals, such as CoD Next. Now with Microsoft running the show, it remains to be seen how the hype will be generated up to its inevitable release sometime this fall.
