Microsoft needs to get a grip on Call of Duty or risk irreparable damage to the franchise

I'm just going to come out and say it. Microsoft needs to step in and stop there being a new Call of Duty game every single year.

Of course, having spent an exorbitant sum of money on acquiring it alongside the rest of the Activision Blizzard King portfolio, it's going to want to reap the financial rewards as fast, but also as long as it can.

I get that. But Microsoft doesn't exactly have a good record in keeping average consumers happy of late, does it? Black Ops 7 coming a year after Black Ops 6 isn't necessarily a problem, but it's also not helping it stand out, either.

It needs to stop. I love Call of Duty, but I don't want Modern Warfare 4 next year. I want there to be a break, a proper reset, a chance for the franchise to get back on its feet.

The money may keep rolling in, but Microsoft is the custodian of one of the biggest selling video game series in history. If something doesn't change, I fear we'll reach a breaking point and irreparable damage will have been done.

Call of Duty fatigue is real

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, like its predecessor and several games before it, is going to play hard on the live service model. Game publishers love live service, because it's a constant stream of revenue. So long as people keep playing and keep buying things.

Call of Duty is also exhausting. I, like many others, relish a challenge, and embrace the grind, but it's overwhelming. In a few weeks, Season 01 will begin, a Battle Pass will appear, and the in-game events will start rolling around.

There's always something to do, which is great. But it's a lot. It can feel like a full-time job. I already have a full-time job.

There's also the fact that by the middle of this year, Black Ops 7 was getting talked about. It'll be the same next year when (we presume anyway) Modern Warfare 4 will start being teased. It's like a conveyor belt.

There's been a new Call of Duty every year now for as long as I can remember, but it's only more recently the games have leaned hard into live service. And this is what's adding to the exhaustion.

Warzone has been the apparent influence on everything, and it's starting to feel tiring. It's hard to really love any of these games anymore when it feels like you have no time with them before the next one is being pushed.

It's time for a break. Time for a reset. We don't NEED a new Call of Duty every year. We just don't. But at least the next two years it looks like we won't get one.

Live service means a game can live for longer

I'm looking at EA with the F1 series as an example, here. Sports titles are known for the yearly cycle, but instead of an F1 26, they're going to sell DLC with the new season's content, and return at a later date with a whole fresh new game.

The point is that Call of Duty is now firmly in the live service arena. Surely making one good game and supporting it for multiple years will keep bringing in the revenue?

The Black Ops 7 content is good, the maps are a significant improvement on last year, but honestly, did we really need it this year? It's not that different to Black Ops 6.

Maybe with more time between games, players wouldn't get so burned out, and the negativity might not be so widespread. Right now, I feel like Black Ops 7 is being panned unfairly because a lot of people are just tired of the franchise.

Live service doesn't have to mean a new game every 12 months.

Microsoft needs to stop counting coins and listen to the players

My colleague, Jez Corden, has previously written on the topic that Microsoft's CFO, Amy Hood, is mandating a 30% margin on the company's gaming divisions. While that might please shareholders and boost executive bonuses, it's out of touch with the rest of the industry.

Call of Duty is no doubts a major cash cow, but the problem is, it's going to end up causing harm that could be impossible to overturn. We already feel it. How many of us complained last year about the "Fortniteification" of Call of Duty with ludicrous skins and brand collaborations?

The difference is that Fortnite is a free to play game. Call of Duty is — Warzone aside — a premium, full-priced game that never stops trying to sell you more stuff.

Microsoft is atop all of this. Activision might be doing mostly its own thing, but the buck stops with the parent company. It's time to stop taking the players, the customers, for granted. I think that means stopping with the yearly cycle, among other things.

Have we seen any official numbers from Activision for how many people have played Black Ops 7? No. Endgame is, after a solitary week, being opened to everyone, no campaign clear required. None of the signs point to this having been the sort of launch Black Ops 6 had.

Heed the warning signs. The competition this year is hotter than ever with Battlefield 6, and players have real alternatives. What makes them come back?

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