CALL OF DUTY ADVANCED WARFARE 2 TEASERS, RELEASE DATE & RUMORS

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By DETONATED

Updated at 5:23 pm, April 21, 2024
5 MINUTE READ

Call of Duty players currently have their attention split across multiple games – Modern Warfare 3, Warzone Mobile, and Black Ops Gulf War. New rumors have seemingly hinted at Sledgehammer’s direction for their next title, which may be Advanced Warfare 2, a game that was in development two times prior. Across MWIII, WZ, and Rebirth Island we’ve seen hints sprinkled along, and with how long it’s been since Sledgehammer were true leads on their own game, we believe the time for Advanced Warfare II draws near.

SLEDGEHAMMER GAMES’ STRUGGLE – COMPLETE TIMELINE

Advanced Warfare 2 originally entered development as a sequel to the original AW in 2014, until a mandate from Activision demanded they pivot back to boots-on-the-ground style gameplay. This was likely due to there having been multiple jetpack style Call of Duty games recently: Black Ops 3, Infinite Warfare, and Advanced Warfare 1 – which caused controversy among fans at the time. The end result was the game being dropped to create Call of Duty: World War II.

The development of WWII is a tumultuous tale, and this was not an easy time for Sledgehammer. In the midst of a year of creating their own zombies mode, championing the return to boots-on-the-ground gameplay, and dealing with backlash about certain development decisions, Activision stepped in and replaced their Studio Leads. With Michael Condrey and Glen Schofield gone, Sledgehammer spent the rest of the life-cycle of CoD WWII listening to fan feedback and implementing sweeping changes in design across the game.

Afterwards, Sledge set out on a collaborative project with Raven Software – a Cold War era Call of Duty game. While we do not know all the details, there were seemingly creative differences between Ravensoft and Sledgehammer, slowing down development ultimately resulting in Sledgehammer being replaced by Treyarch as lead developers This game went on to become Black Ops: Cold War.

Out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire, Sledgehammer were quickly thrown into development on the Call of Duty game set to release after Black Ops Cold War. This game was, once again, a boots-on-the-ground World War 2 era Call of Duty game – Vanguard. CoD: Vanguard suffered from one of the most rushed development cycles in modern Call of Duty, and as such, launched to a very mixed reception.

However, Sledgehammer kept their heads down and continued development on Vanguard until the end of its life cycle. With this extra time in the oven, Sledgehammer made some successful experimental decisions that helped set the standard for current post-launch Call of Duty. We did even end up seeing the appearance of some Advanced Warfare weapons towards the end of Vanguard’s life cycle.

Finally, after wrapping up another mandated title they did not intend to release, Sledgehammer once again went back to the drawing board for their next title. Leaks and rumors suggest that at this point, SHG attempted to pitch Advanced Warfare 2 to the higher ups at Activision and were rejected succinctly. Instead, Sledgehammer were sent to work on what would become Modern Warfare 3.

Sledgehammer introduced themselves to Call of Duty with the original MW3 years prior, so they set to work on the reboot of their first CoD title.

NEW ADVANCED WARFARE 2 TEASERS – FULL RECAP

Modern Warfare 3 exists in an interesting time, set in what is essentially the modern day, but with ever-so-slightly more advanced technology. This time setting combined with the return of Rebirth Island has begun to set in motion a narrative that seems to be preparing to transition from an era of Modern Warfare, to an era of Advanced Warfare. But before we talk about Modern Warfare III’s Rebirth, let’s take a step back, and discuss Rebirth’s initial return in Vanguard.

Perseus, at the time it was set in 2021, was in control of Rebirth Island. Perseus logos and items littered the map, and we as players were set in the midst of a battle for control of the island. Now, returning to Rebirth in 2023, we can still see those Persues insignias plastered on buildings and walls – but this time things are a bit different. Where once a shining metal logo would project a feeling of power and control, there is now dust and rust that suggest abandonment.

It seems as though, back in 2021, Perseus lost control of the island and it now sits in the hands of Makarov and the Konni group. Now in 2023 as Makarov begins to exert control over the island and try and set it up as a base for Konni, mysterious happenings on modern Rebirth suggest something profoundly interesting. It seems as though Perseus, or whatever remnants of them exist, are attempting to make contact with Makarov. Perhaps Konni, with very similar goals to Persues, may end up meeting with them and picking up where they left off.

This creates the potential for Konni post 2023 to transition into a modern iteration of Perseus – name, mission, and all. And considering rumors also suggest the title that will release after Black Ops Gulf War in 2025 is a spiritual successor to Black Ops 2, it seems that will all work out perfectly. Lots of the modern Call of Duty titles keep their content and post launch content set in the “present day”, and when this game releases that will just so happen to be the very year BO2 takes place – 2025. This means that instead of Cordis Die, we could possibly see a Makarov lead Perseus in the modern day as the antagonists of a future Black Ops title.

In the industry building, where you complete the Island Lockdown Easter Egg, you will notice something very interesting. On display behind protected glass are EXOSUITS – very similar to the ones we saw featured in the original Advanced Warfare. We can see the complete version of this suit in the new Rebirth Soldier bundle for Nolan – who is coincidentally Makarov’s right hand man. Could this suggest that Konni and their secret allies at Rebirth Island are beginning research into the technology that will lead us to the Advanced Warfare age?

And could we perhaps see more of the Advanced Warfare xclusive technology continue to return in future seasons – like mechs, variable grenades, or DNA Bombs? The name of the skin being Rebirth Soldier and it being specifically for Nolan seem to suggest so. The idea that Makrov would have a hand in inventing the first exosuits in the united timeline using technology only found at a Black Ops location is a fantastic use of the new combined timeline.

SLEDGEHAMMER GAMES’ NEXT TITLE – CALL OF DUTY 2027

As of right now, the future of Call of Duty is filled with rumors and unknowns. From what we understand, this year’s Call of Duty title is a new Black Ops game from Treyarch, with an “MWIII style” immediate follow up title the following year in 2025. Leaks suggest this 2025 title will feature remakes from the original Black Ops 2, just as Modern Warfare III featured maps from the classic MW2 in its multiplayer. Afterwards, in 2026, it is believed that Infinity Ward will once again return to the fray for the first time since Modern Warfare II – potentially Modern Warfare 4.

According to Tom Henderson, Call of Duty 2025 was originally slated to feature Sledgehammer as the main developer once again. However, after their 16-month dev cycle for MWIII, they voiced concerns about being shoehorned into the role of a “year 2 support studio.” After this, the lead dev of 2025 remains unknown, with likely candidates being Treyarch or High Moon Studios. Later on in the same post, Tom mentions that Sledgehammer was given the green light to develop their own FULL Call of Duty title for 2027. Could this be when we finally see the return of Advanced Warfare?

THE RETURN OF JETPACK GAMEPLAY

The last Call of Duty title to feature boost movement was Infinite Warfare back in 2016. By the time we are set for CoD 2027, it will have been more than a decade since the last jetpack based Call of Duty. This also means that it’s very likely a majority of the playerbase at that time will never have played any of the boost titles. As is the way with the “circle of CoD”, things in this franchise end up more appreciated the further we get from them. With a decade between us and jetpacks, what was once controversially called an unnecessary innovation can now be seen for what it truly was: an interesting evolution and direction for Call of Duty to take – once in a while.

With the advantage of hindsight, CoD’s teams can keep the boost-movement games separated by boots-on-the-ground titles so that players are not overwhelmed. While players may have had a negative reaction to boost movement seemingly taking over the entire franchise, they may enjoy it knowing that it is only a temporary addition as the unique feature of that year’s title alone. Plus, with the advancement of playlists and post-launch support for modern titles, it’s very likely we will see playlists that allow us to play Multiplayer and Warzone without using the exo-movement if we so choose. If SHG take call of duty into the future, this sets each developer in their own era – Treyarch in the past, Infinity Ward in the present, and Sledgehammer in the future.

CONCLUSION

Using hints across Warzone, Rebirth, and Modern Warfare III, Sledgehammer have continuously pointed towards a potential sequel or reboot for Advanced Warfare. After a recent shakeup in the development cycle, they’ve supposedly been placed as the lead developer for Call of Duty 2027. With this in mind, it seems that Advanced Warfare II is a likely entry in the future of Call of Duty. This could be a great shakeup for the franchise, as the unification of the CoD engines has games feeling more similar than ever. Perhaps after 2 more Black Ops games on this engine in 2024 and 2025, the current formula for Call of Duty may begin to feel stale.

This would be an excellent time for Sledgehammer to step in with the boost formula and give the franchise a good refresher. With how often we have seen experimental Sledgehammer ideas be rolled over into the other two mainline Call of Duty games, it’s very likely this title could provide a boost to the Black Ops and Modern Warfare franchises as well.

What do you think? Would you be excited for SHG to return to the Advanced Warfare series? And do you think 2027 is enough time to return to jetpacks? Would you prefer we wait longer? Or perhaps even get it sooner? Let us know what you think, and check out DKDYNAMITE’s discussion video on the topic here: