'Call of Duty' 2017 Release Date, Details: Activision Confirms 2017 Installment 'Goes Back to Its Roots'

By Gracezyl Blanco, Wednesday, February 15, 2017

First-person shooter game franchise "Call of Duty" will release a new installment this 2017, and developer Activision promised fans that the new game will take them "back to its roots."

During Activision's earnings reports and conference call with investors last week, the company promised fans that "Call of Duty" 2017 will go back to its traditional combat mechanism and will feature a classic, modern-day setting.

This decision was most likely influenced by the fact that the last installment of the franchise, "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare," underperformed in terms of the company's expectations.

Many gaming enthusiasts already observed that sales for "Call of Duty's" previous installment, "Black Ops III," were significantly down due to the fact that it was introduced as a new sub-series of the franchise. This was also the main frustration of many "Call of Duty" fans who did not expect that Activision would steer away from the game's usual setting.

Although "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" was a high-quality and innovative game, Thomas Tippl, Activision's Chief Operating Officer, admitted that the space and futuristic setting did not really resonate well with most fans of the game.

Despite that, however, the developers did not regret exploring that setting as this allowed them to empower their talented team to go for what they were really passionate about. "Providing an environment that recognizes passion is a critical component of our success, and a process to learn from our mistakes is what makes our company special," Tippl explained.

Furthermore, it is confirmed that Sledgehammer Games will develop this year's "Call of Duty" installment, as announced by the studio's official Twitter account. The studio reportedly already spent three years in creating the game and establishing its story and gameplay.

Specific details, however, are still kept under wraps, but with Activision's acknowledgement of the upcoming game, fans will certainly get to see a new "Call of Duty" game within this year.