Call Of Duty 2014: What’s Next For ‘COD’ After ‘Ghosts’?

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the “Call of Duty” franchise, and following the release of “COD: Ghosts,” many “CoD” fans are wondering what the next step will be for the series. Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) has published one major “Call of Duty” title every year since 2006, and has confirmed that a new release is under development for release in 2014.

Development of the “Call of Duty” franchise has been divided for years between two game studios – Infinity Ward and Treyarch – with the former following up the “Modern Warfare” series with "Ghosts", and the latter developing the first and second iteration of “Black Ops.” Following the departure of two-thirds of Infinity Ward’s founders and nearly half of its staff in 2010, a third studio called Sledgehammer Games was brought in to help finish “Modern Warfare 3.”

The result was a smashing success. “MW3” became the best-reviewed release in the “Call of Duty” franchise, earning over a billion dollars in 16 days. Sledgehammer Studios had been pulled off of a mysterious “CoD” title, rumored to be in the vein of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) like “World of Warcraft.”

So what’s coming for “Call of Duty” in 2014?

If Treyarch is developing the next “Call of Duty”, then it is highly possible the studio will follow up 2012’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” with a third title, likely “Black Ops 3.” It appears as though three is the magic number for the “CoD” franchise, with three games set in World War II before jumping to the near future with three separate “Modern Warfare” titles.

However, “Black Ops 2” ended a trilogy that began with “Call of Duty: World at War,” so the next Treyarch title might be something completely different. Perhaps “Call of Duty 11” will be a new game set in WWII?

“Call of Duty 2014” could be the mysterious title under development at Sledgehammer Games. The studio has been working on a “CoD” title since shortly after the release of “MW3” at the end of 2011. Could it be similar to what gamers have seen before, such as “Modern Warfare 4,” or the long-awaited action/adventure MMORPG title?

Only time will tell, but the possibilities are endless -- even for a first-person shooter sometimes called under-imaginative. The only thing for sure is that an eleventh "Call of Duty" is on the way sometime next fall for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 (PS4), and likely the Xbox 360 and PS3 as well.

Would you like to see something similar to previous titles for "Call of Duty 2014", or something way out of left field like a standalone “zombies” entry? Let us know in the comments below.

Follow Thomas Halleck on Twitter, especially if you are itching for a next-gen WWII shooter like he is.