Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a next gen Xbox game for 2026 claims insider

The first next gen Call Of Duty will be an Xbox exclusive, according to the latest rumours, as more details about Modern Warfare 4 emerge.

No matter what else happens in the video games industry, there are always two franchises you can count on for being hits no matter what, year in year out. Or perhaps not. Only weeks after EA Sports FC 25 was revealed to have been a sales disappointment there is now considerable uncertainty over the future of the free-to-play Call Of Duty: Warzone 2.

Although last year’s Black Ops 6 was the fastest selling Call Of Duty ever, new reports suggest that if the reintroduction of original Warzone map Verdansk does not prove popular then plans for Call Of Duty: Warzone 3 will be scrapped.

It’s also claimed that the 2026 Call Of Duty will be Modern Warfare 4 by developer Infinity Ward, which is something that’s been rumoured before. But the new suggestion is that the 2026 game will also become a key launch title for the next gen Xbox console.

Previous rumours have suggested that this year’s Call Of Duty will be a direct sequel to Black Ops 2 and will still be released for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, as well as current gen formats (and quite possibly the Nintendo Switch 2).

That’s all very believable, as is Modern Warfare 4 in 2026. However, leaker TheGhostofHope claims, as he has done before, that the next gen Xbox will also be released that year.

Although Microsoft has confirmed it’s working on a next gen console there’s been considerable confusion over the time frame for it. There have been rumours for both 2026 and 2028 and while Microsoft has also talked about a handheld console, that is years away from release, it’s unclear where that fits in with their next gen plans.

According to TheGhostOfHope Modern Warfare 4 will apparently not be released on ‘old gen’ formats, by which he presumably means the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

He also claims it will have a more traditional user interface, closer to the older games, and that the graphics engine will be improved to avoid problems like ‘visual clutter’ from Modern Warfare 3.

Although Sony has also hinted at plans for the PlayStation 6 there’s been far fewer rumours about it. One had suggested a 2027 launch, but none have indicated that it’ll be out as early as 2026.

That raises the prospect that Modern Warfare 4, despite being multiformat, could be a de facto next gen exclusive for Xbox.

While rapidly declining sales of the Xbox Series X/S are a serious problem for Microsoft, Sony isn’t necessarily in such a rush to release the PlayStation 6. Microsoft will also remember that their biggest success came with the Xbox 360, which purposefully launched a year before the PlayStation 3.

While Microsoft has already insisted that Call Of Duty will remain multiformat the very different next gen plans of the three console manufacturers may make that a practical impossibility for next year at least.

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