Call of Duty to reportedly dip toes back into World War II roots this year

The Call of Duty franchise is reportedly planning a return to form, with this year's sequel rumored to take place in a World War II setting. Eurogamer reports that it has confirmed with its sources that the latest entry in the series will simply be titled Call of Duty: WW2. That follows the leak of alleged images that pointed to the same conclusion by YouTube channel The FamilyVideoGamers earlier in March.

This would mark Call of Duty's first venture back to a World War II setting since 2008. And if true, this certainly jives with comments from an Activision earnings call earlier this year in which the company said it would be taking the series "back to its roots" with "traditional combat" in 2017.

In the rotating cast of Call of Duty developers, Sledgehammer Games has taken on development responsibilities for this year's title. WW2 will follow on from the studio's last Call of Duty entry, 2014's Advanced Warfare.

The move back to World War II could be a reaction to a somewhat poorer reception of last year's futuristic Infinite Warfare title. The Battlefield series likewise took a step back with its last title, which transported players back to the battlefields of World War I.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl