A Call of Duty leaker suggests that the Xbox shake-up could affect the future of the series

The move has reportedly been forced, with Microsoft potentially delaying the next-gen Xbox console Call of Duty To be more flexible with its marketing plans, according to a leaker on social media. Although the Call of Duty While the franchise has traditionally relied on annual releases, those plans could soon change for the remainder of 2026 and beyond.

news about Call of DutyThe future plans come amid a busy week for Microsoft and its gaming brand. On February 20, former Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer announced his retirement after 37 years with the company, effective immediately. Former Xbox president Sarah Bond also left Microsoft on the same day. Following Spencer's announcement, Microsoft said Matt Booty had been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO). Spencer's successor as CEO of Microsoft Gaming is Asha Sharma, a former senior AI executive at Microsoft. Despite his background, Sharma condemned the use of generative AI in game development in his first public statement as CEO.

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Outgoing Xbox president Sarah Bond released a statement following the news of her departure

Outgoing Xbox president Sarah Bond released a formal statement after confirming her departure from Microsoft.

Call of Duty's altered plans may still benefit players

Just a few weeks later Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and war zone As Season 2 began, a leaker claimed that Activision's plans for the future of the series had taken a hit due to some decisions by Microsoft. According to The Ghost of Hope on Twitter, the delayed launch of the next-gen Xbox console has greatly “hurt” Call of Duty's marketing plans for the system's original 2026 launch window. Asha's ghost has claimed through a source that they have another plan CoD Title, which is stated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4It was originally planned to come with Microsoft's next video game console. Activision and Microsoft had originally hoped to launch simultaneously Modern Warfare 4 The new Xbox console was to compete with Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto 6 For the attention of players, though, that will no longer be the case.

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Although the rumor should be taken with a good grain of salt, Ghost of Hope said that Treyarch could launch a standalone. Call of Duty: Zombies Game, except Modern Warfare 4Later this year. Leaker claimed that the standalone CoD: Zombies A game can receive multi-year support, albeit annually Call of Duty Releases with a campaign and multiplayer will still be on the cards. Ghost of Hope added that Microsoft wants Activision to be “more agile” with its game releases, and less tied to the notion of annual launches. Like withdrawal shooters ARC Raiders and Bungie's upcoming titles Marathon Still proving popular, it remains to be seen what impact the new development pipeline will have Call of Duty in the future.

Everything you need to know about the next-gen Xbox

As for Microsoft's rumored next-gen Xbox console, the system was originally planned to arrive in late 2026. However, the ongoing RAM and SSD shortage crisis, which has affected the entire gaming and tech industries across the board, has forced Microsoft to completely push back its next-gen console launch from 2026. The next-gen Xbox, which has no official name as of this writing, is said to be powered by a custom AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) that won't be ready for launch until 2027 at the earliest. Additionally, the new Xbox console will add to Microsoft's plans to make Windows 11 the go-to gaming hub for its audience, with potential compatibility for PC storefronts like Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store built into the new console.

Despite the 2027 release window that has been circulating on social media, Microsoft has not committed to a hard 2027 launch for the next-gen Xbox. With the RAM crisis showing no signs of slowing down, pricing and release date information for the next-gen Xbox has been difficult to pin down. Given that Microsoft's timeline is still subject to change, time will tell when the next-gen Xbox will be fully revealed and released to consumers worldwide.