Call of Duty: Warzone 2 is real, and it's developed by Infinity Ward

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Captain Price

(Image credit: Activision)

Activision has revealed that an all-new Call of Duty: Warzone "experience" is in development under the guidance of Infinity Ward and will be out later this year. And that's not all: After months of speculation, it also finally confirmed that this year's mainline Call of Duty game is the sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare reboot.

Win more Warzone 2

warzone 2 battle pass explained — (Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

Warzone 2 loadouts: Best guns
Warzone 2 DMZ: New mode guide
Warzone 2 unhinged: Hectic BRs
Warzone 2 perks: Perk packages
Warzone 2 contracts: Turn it in
Warzone 2 cash: Make bank

Both Modern Warfare 2022 and the next Warzone—which isn't actually referred to as Warzone 2 in the update but seems like a full sequel—are being developed on a new engine. Work on both games is being headed up by Infinity Ward, something Activision Blizzard confirmed last week during its quarterly financial call.

The big announcement appeared in a surprisingly low-key fashion, at the end of today's community update, which focused on quality-of-life changes coming to Warzone. Following a rundown of Activision's "priorities" for the game and how it intends to address top community requests, it revealed "a peek" into what's coming later this year.

"This year’s Call of Duty is a sequel to Modern Warfare 2019," the update says. "The new game and a new Warzone experience are designed together from the ground-up. Expect a massive evolution of Battle Royale with all-new playspace and a new sandbox mode."

There's no sign of a release target at this point, but Activision's soon-to-be new parent company Microsoft recently confirmed that it, and future Call of Duty games, will continue to be available on PlayStation platforms.

PRODUCTS

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.