2026’s Call of Duty Game Rumored to Make Big Departure From Recent Entries

The 2026 entry in the Call of Duty series is rumored to be making a major departure from some of the most recent installments in the franchise. At this point in time, Activision has yet to formally announce what this year’s Call of Duty game will be. Despite this, it’s known that 2026 isn’t going to come and go without a new title, as Activision has at least confirmed its intention to release another game this year. Whenever this new entry inevitably launches, though, it might be a bit more difficult for some players to actually get their hands on it.

Speaking on The Xbox Two Podcast, reporter Jez Corden said that he has heard Call of Duty could skip Xbox Game Pass this year. In both 2024 and 2025, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 joined Game Pass as day-one additions to the service. This move came about in the wake of Microsoft finalizing its purchase of Activision and bolstered Game Pass with arguably the biggest day-one games the platform had ever seen. Despite this, Corden relayed that he has heard there is a “possibility” of this year’s Call of Duty game skipping Game Pass.

Does This Move Make Sense for Call of Duty?

On paper, it’s somewhat logical for the latest Call of Duty to not come to Xbox Game Pass immediately upon its launch. While Microsoft has surely gained many Game Pass subscribers by putting Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 on the subscription platform, it’s also potentially impacting its sales potential by doing so. With Black Ops 7 having greatly failed to meet expectations both commercially and critically, those at Microsoft and Xbox are likely weighing the benefits and drawbacks of continuing to bring new Call of Duty games to Game Pass.

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Based on reports, this year’s new Call of Duty entry is also expected to be that of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Although 2023’s Modern Warfare 3 was met with some backlash, the Modern Warfare sub-series is arguably the most popular in Call of Duty history. As such, there is huge potential for Modern Warfare 4 to put Call of Duty back on the map in 2026, even if it will have to compete with Grand Theft Auto VI launching in its proximity.

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