Prior to 2020, the Call of Duty franchise had an obvious format for its reveals. However, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War changed that, straying from the series’ path in a noticeable way. Though the effects of COVID-19 were clearly felt during the game’s development, as it certainly may have played a role in the change, there are likely other reasons for the late release. As such, the most recent Call of Duty game’s release format might just be the new standard as opposed to a one-off change.

Though this is purely speculation and not confirmed, it is entirely possible that Call of Duty 2021 is revealed later in the year as opposed to sooner. With Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War becoming one of the highest selling games ever made, Activision may want to mimic as much of the game’s marketing as possible. With the latest reveal setup helping the series’ fans in a few major ways as well, those interested in 2021’s Call of Duty release may want to adjust their expectations accordingly.

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Prior to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Activision had a clear format for the major releases in the Call of Duty series. Between 2007’s original Modern Warfare game and the 2019 reboot of the same subseries, every game in the series was revealed between the months of March and June. Their reveal and release dates can be seen below.

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - The game that kickstarted the franchise’s “golden age” was revealed on April 28, 2007, releasing on November 5 of the same year.

• Call of Duty: World at War - The first trailer for this World War 2-focused game dropped on June 21 of 2008, and it released on November 11 later that year.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - The sequel to Modern Warfare was revealed on March 25, 2009, and its launch came on November 10, 2009.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops - The original Black Ops game was first revealed on April 30, 2010, and it launched later that year on November 9.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - May 23, 2011 saw the first teaser for the end of the Modern Warfare trilogy appear online, and the game released on November 8, 2011.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - What many consider to be the final Call of Duty game in the “golden age,” Black Ops 2’s trailer debuted on May 1, 2012. It launched on November 12 of that year.

• Call of Duty: Ghosts - May 1, 2013 served as this Call of Duty game’s reveal day, and it released on November 5, 2013.

• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - The first Call of Duty from Sledgehammer Games, Advanced Warfare was first shown on May 4, 2014. It launched on November 4 of that year.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 - Remembered fondly for its version of CoD Zombies, Black Ops 3 was revealed on April 26, 2015. It launched later that year on November 6.

• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Likely the most controversial Call of Duty game, this futuristic title was revealed on May 2, 2016. It launched on November 4 of that year.

• Call of Duty: WW2 - This return to the second World War was first shown on April 26, 2017, and the game debuted on November 3, 2017.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Revealed at a special event on May 17, 2018, the fourth Black Ops title launched on October 12 of that same year.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - 2019’s reboot of the Modern Warfare subseries was the final game to keep the old format, and it was revealed on May 30. It released on October 25 of that year.

While Call of Duty: Warzone technically broke the tradition first, it is a bit of a special case due to its free-to-play nature and its function as an "extra" entry in the series. Instead, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War can be looked at as the game that truly brought this release trend to an end. While it kept the common release month of November, it dropped the spring reveal — being the first game in over a decade to do so. Instead of a proper reveal event or a sudden trailer drop, a lengthy ARG began in August.

Comprised of YouTubers opening crates with projectors, players solving puzzles in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, videos being watched on the Pawn Takes Pawn website, and secret areas being explored in Call of Duty: Warzone, the event was long and complex. Once the ARG was complete, players were shown a teaser trailer. A separate puzzle took place for Call of Duty Zombies, while an in-game Call of Duty: Warzone event saw players meeting with Frank Woods and watching the first gameplay trailer. While future reveal events may not be this lengthy or require as much puzzle-solving, as it seems more fitting of the Black Ops style only, fans should not be surprised if late reveal dates are more commonplace going forward.

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Call of Duty reveals taking place later in the year makes sense for several reasons. One big benefit of revealing the game closer to release is that players get to ride the hype wave directly to release, getting access to an Alpha or Beta almost immediately after the reveal. With more of the game finished, these trial periods can include more content, and the game’s developer can show more of the game off in trailers. Shortly after the betas finish, the game will launch, meaning that there is no downtime of several months where Call of Duty fans need to wait for fresh information.

Another big factor is that delayed reveals allow players to fully invest their time, money, and attention into the current Call of Duty game. If players begin to think that there is another Call of Duty game right around the corner, they may be less inclined to spend time playing the current game — avoiding new Battle Passes and post-launch content. With a delayed reveal, however, players can focus all their energy on enjoying the active Call of Duty game. With Call of Duty fans frustrated with Activision for pushing them away from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, giving players as much time as possible to enjoy each game makes sense.

With late-year reveals allowing for an increase in player excitement as well as a longer life cycle for every Call of Duty game, it makes sense that Activision will move forward with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s setup in mind. Leakers have already suggested that another August reveal for Call of Duty is likely, as well as a Call of Duty: Warzone reveal event. With fans being able to partake in the reveal making things a whole lot more interesting, players should expect history to repeat itself later this year. Further, if Activision finds success with this format once again, the publisher might use it for all future releases as well.

Call of Duty 2021 is in development.

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