Activision confirms Call of Duty 2021 release window, studio

Activision Blizzard has delivered its financial results for the first quarter of calendar 2021, and in those results, it has given us the first official details about this year's Call of Duty game. Activision, obviously, kept details rather sparse, but it did confirm the launch window for the game and did let us know which of its studios will be taking the lead on development this time around.

In a call with investors following the release of the company's financial results, Activision Blizzard confirmed that 2021's Call of Duty will be launching in fall, which is its normal release window. The company also revealed that development will be led by Sledgehammer Games, which led Call of Duty: WWII in 2017 and assisted with the development of both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in 2019 and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in 2020.

"We are very excited for this year's premium Call of Duty release," Activation Blizzard COO Daniel Alegre said during the call. "Development is being led by Sledgehammer Games and the game is looking great and on track for its fall release. This is a built-for-next-generation experience with stunning visuals across campaign, multiplayer, and cooperative modes of play designed to both integrate with and enhance the existing CoD ecosystem. We look forward to sharing more details with the community soon."

So, as you can see, there wasn't a whole lot that was revealed about this year's Call of Duty, but aside from those bits about Sledgehammer acting as lead developer and the game launching in fall, we also learned that it will have a campaign and will integrate with Call of Duty: Warzone, as we'd expect.

It is worth noting that leaks from Modern Warzone and Eurogamer back in March claimed that Sledgehammer would be the lead developer on this year's game, so it look like those reports were accurate on that front. Those leaks also told us that the Call of Duty series would be returning to World War II for 2021's installment, but Activision Blizzard hasn't commented on the setting yet. We'll let you know when the company reveals more, so stay tuned.