Call of Duty publisher Activision has issued a rare, if brief, comment to seemingly deny a claim it planned to launch a standalone Zombies game.
Earlier this week, Call of Duty leaker TheGhostofHope stated on social media that Activision was prepping two separate Call of Duty games for the launch of Microsoft's next-gen Xbox console (currently expected to launch in 2027 at the earliest).
The claim described these two launches as "a traditional Call of Duty multiplayer and a standalone Zombies title presumably developed by Treyarch," and likened their release to when "Infinite Warfare and Modern Warfare Remastered where [sic] both released together."
That leak was then picked up by gaming blog Dexerto, to which Activision has now responded using its official Call of Duty social media account: "The rumor factory working overtime," Activision wrote. "This ain't it."
Activision typically does not respond to rumors or speculation, making this intervention notable. That said, the vague nature of the denial makes it unclear exactly which parts of the original claim Activision is now saying are untrue, or whether some element of this claim was true until plans ultimately changed.
On social media, Call of Duty's response comes specifically in reply to a thread of tweets discussing the standalone Zombies title, and the claim it was being prepped as a launch title for Microsoft's next console.
The original rumor suggested that Microsoft's shifting release plans for its next Xbox hardware had meant that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, the franchise's most anticipated upcoming release, would no longer be a launch title for the next-gen Xbox, as apparently had been planned. While not yet officially confirmed, Modern Warfare 4 is expected by fans to be this year's Call of Duty entry — but there's absolutely no suggestion that Microsoft is planning to launch new consoles this year.
Still, some kind of shakeup to Call of Duty's forthcoming release schedule is expected, following Activision's recent pledge to make significant changes to the franchise following the underperformance of Black Ops 7. The publisher has said it will never release back to back games in the same sub-brand (Modern Warfare, Black Ops) again, meaning it will likely need to come up with other options if it continues with an annual release schedule.
As for Microsoft's plans for new consoles, the company has confirmed it has fresh hardware in the works on several occaisons. In 2024, former Xbox president Sarah Bond said Microsoft was "moving full speed ahead on our next generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation." A year later, the company publicly confirmed its partnership with AMD on its next-generation Xbox project. But a recent report suggested that 2027 was now a conservative estimate for the company's new hardware — which instead could now arrive later.
Sony is also reportedly considering delaying the launch of PlayStation 6 to 2028, or potentially even later, due to the ongoing AI-fueled chip crisis.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
