Infinity Ward says they’re making “the definitive Modern Warfare” for Call of Duty 2026

Infinity Ward has confirmed that they are leading development on Call of Duty for 2026, and that it will be “the definitive Modern Warfare” game.

The news came from Infinity Ward’s Co-Studio Heads Mark Grigsby and Jack O’Hara, who had sat down for COD POD: Off Duty, a quickfire interview series being hosted by Infinity Ward Communications Manager Isaac Guignard. Right at the tail end of rapidfire string of questions, Guignard got down to the main question everyone has, asking the duo about rumours and expectations that Inifnity Ward is developing this year’s Call of Duty.

O’Hara simply replied “Yes”, Grigsby told us to “Stay tuned”, and then O’Hara clarified that “[Infinity Ward] are making the definitive Modern Warfare.”

So, there you have it. Modern Warfare 4 is coming (perhaps by another name), and that moment was naturally clipped and quoted for Call of Duty’s social media.

What else do we know about the next Call of Duty? Well, it’s definitely dropping the last generation of consoles, as COD social media stamped down on rumours. We also know that it will not be day one on Game Pass, as Microsoft has reversed their decision from a couple years ago. And we expect that the advertising campaign will avoid implying “painful penetration” this year.

But in general, this is Infinity Ward back at the helm for the first time since 2022’s Modern Warfare 2. That game reimagined the plot of the 2009 game within the frame of the 2019 series reboot, and was very popular for it, though less so for some of the ways that the story was being spread out. However, it marked the start of an up and down period for Call of Duty titles, with Modern Warfare 3 poorly received, then Black Ops 6 being liked, and Black Ops 7 failing to perform critically or commercially, to the extent that Call of Duty 2026 feels like it needs to get the series back on track.

Modern Warfare 3 was released in 2023, the first back-to-back sequel in the franchise since Call of Duty 3, but instead of being led by Infinity Ward, it was Sledgehammer Games as the lead studio. Reports were that Activision had considered making this a ‘year 2’ DLC for Modern Warfare 2, before changing their minds, and the reception suffered because of that. The campaign was disliked and featured strange open world sandbox missions, and the multiplayer was built around classic maps from the series and gameplay tweaks that rolled back some of the changes made for MW2019 – such as the mini-map behaviour. Admittedly people had wanted that last point changed.

Still, the expectation is that Infinity Ward will produce a strong new entry, having had four years to build up to it, and we look forward to seeing what they’ve cooked up.

But we have to look back on the most recent game in the sub-series, and in our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 review, Gareth said, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 isn’t an outright bad game, but it’s also not a particularly good one. Taken on its own, it’s a slightly above average first person shooter with a poor campaign, but in context, you can see how hurried and limited in scope this game really is. The multiplayer is effectively a classic map pack, Zombies and Open Combat Missions are game modes built within the existing Warzone map, and the campaign’s pacing and story come up short. It all adds up to a lacklustre experience and even a sense that Call of Duty is at risk of losing its identity.”

Source: YouTube

Tags: Call of Duty, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Infinity Ward