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Call of Duty Modern Warfare II is scheduled for release in the late months of 2022, but there could be a significant change in its sales and distribution.
Earlier on January 18, Microsoft informed their willingness and a potential deal to acquire Activision. The acquisition will be a complete takeover, which means that the 10,000-strong employee count and worldwide studios will all be coming under Microsoft Corporation. Along with the workforce comes all the IPs, including the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft series.
Call of Duty's next major release will be Modern Warfare II, which Infinity Ward is making. If Microsoft keeps up with Activision's tradition, Call of Duty Modern Warfare II will be coming out in November 2022. While there won't be any changes in the release window, there could be a potential change regarding the platforms where the game can be released.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare II will likely not be a Microsoft Xbox exclusive
Once Microsoft's acquisition is complete, the entire Activision Blizzard banner along with King will come under one banner. This is quite different from the strategic partnerships with publishers like Sega. This move is similar to the one done with Bethesda Softworks.
Since Microsoft's acquisition, Bethesda has announced titles like Starfield and Redfall. These are planned to be Microsoft exclusives and will be coming out on Windows and the Xbox consoles. It's quite likely then that Call of Duty Modern Warfare II would have had the same treatment.
One central point to be remembered is that the deal between Microsoft and Activision will be completed around the middle of 2023. Hence, Call of Duty Modern Warfare II could be the last Call of Duty game to come out under the Activision banner.
All Call of Duty games so far are available on all platforms, and the 2022 release will likely follow Vanguard's path. The games in the series, post-Modern Warfare II, will become Microsoft Xbox exclusives in the future.
One exciting avenue which remains to be seen will be to see what happens with the existing Call of Duty games once the takeover is complete. The first signs of today's announcement could see all the Call of Duty games gradually become available on the Xbox Game Pass. Only time will tell what the future holds for Call of Duty games appearing on PlayStations.
