Can Modern Warfare 2 regain Call of Duty's bleeding player base as Activision loses 50 million players?

Call of Duty is in shambles right now. One of the most popular FPS franchises globally is now struggling to get the desired player count.

On April 26, Activision published its investor report for 2022, which noted that Call of Duty is losing its players regularly. The community predicted this after the disastrous release of Vanguard in 2021 and its integration with Warzone in 2022.

According to the report, Warzone and Vanguard have lost almost 50 million players in one year, despite it all starting so well.

After Activision released its most anticipated game, Call of Duty: Warzone, the first free-to-play battle royale experience in franchise history, the player base skyrocketed in a year. Within 24 hours of its release, the title accrued to six million active players worldwide. The number crossed 150 million in no time, making Warzone Activision's most significant business move.

Currently, though, Activision is genuinely worried about the speed of the plummeting player count. In its latest investor report, the company blamed “lower engagement” in Warzone and the sales drop in Vanguard.

However, the latter still holds the crown for the most selling game in the US this year, which is surprising since it did not reach expectations, and compared to the previous installments, this amount is far from enough.

The free-to-play Warzone’s current state is a lot to blame, and Activision acknowledged the criticism. The constantly growing problems in the title are one of the biggest reasons for the player base getting out.

For the classic Multiplayer and Campaign experience, Vanguard wasn’t the standard COD title that fans had expected for 2021. Activision plans to fix all the mistakes made with the upcoming COD title and Warzone 2.0.

Although the drop in Warzone’s player count is concerning, Activision is also considering their traditional experience. The developer is set to release a sequel to Modern Warfare (2019) this year to make things better.

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Can Modern Warfare 2 regain Call of Duty’s player base?

Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) was the biggest title in Activision’s history. The game revolutionized the franchise and gave gamers a new-gen experience. They even begged multiple times for a Modern Warfare sequel.

Finally, Activision has listened to its fans. It has confirmed the release of the Modern Warfare sequel, which Infinity Ward is developing.

Given the community reaction, fans are pretty excited about this, and the amount of hype created can spark an ignite in the sales of the new game.

As of today, nothing has been confirmed by Activision yet. As insider reports suggest, the game will commence in the Q4 slot this year. Fans can hope to see a new Modern Warfare around October or November.

As per the leaks, Modern Warfare 2 will have an extraction-type game mode like Escape from Tarkov or Battlefield Hazard Zone called DMZ. The new campaign in the game will also revolve around a drug cartel in Ciudad Juarez.

Furthermore, Activision announced that a new Warzone 2 is coming alongside Modern Warfare 2. The game is going to be built from the ground, and it’s going to have groundbreaking game mechanics. Hence, users will experience a title that has never been seen before.

Fans can expect the new Modern Warfare 2 to turn things around for Call of Duty, and Warzone 2.0 will add to that. Activision is going all out to make all the changes and make COD a massive success again.

Note: This article reflects the author’s views.