Will Call of Duty keep its yearly release schedule?

Microsoft broke the video game industry when it bought Activision Blizzard in a historic purchase that has had people in the industry buzzing. Because of this purchase, Microsoft will soon own many high-profile franchises like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Candy Crush, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and, probably the biggest, Call of Duty. There has been a lot of speculation and official statements made on the state of Call of Duty. One report claims that Microsoft is thinking of getting rid of the yearly releases.

It is probably too early to tell now, but Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has reported that there are early talks about ditching the yearly release schedule. These early talks stem from Call of Duty: Vanguard's underwhelming performance. There's also hope that having longer development cycles will help "bolster" the franchise and please fans. Schreier writes these are only early talks, and that the "shift may not happen until next year or later."

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The Call of Duty series is one of the most profitable video game franchises in the world, with each title in the series selling millions at launch. The franchise's profitability is often attributed to its yearly release schedule and the availability of the games on the Xbox and PlayStation.

With Microsoft now owning the Call of Duty franchise, there has been talked about whether future titles in the series will be Xbox exclusive. Xbox head Phil Spencer claims in a tweet that Microsoft has had "good calls" with Sony, and it has a "desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation." However, what does that mean for the yearly releases for the franchise?

For more on Call of Duty, keep reading on Pro Game Guides.