Despite 2020 being the year of delays, Activision Blizzard recently confirmed Call of Duty 2020 (rumored to be Call of Duty: Black Ops 5) is on track and set for release sometime this year. Last year’s reported production troubles apparently haven’t drastically affected the game’s development.
The news comes from VentureBeat, who also spoke with Sledgehammer COO Andy Wilson about the studio’s efforts.
Activision’s Sledgehammer Games is currently launching a large-scale hiring venture to open two additional studios. It’s part of a general overhaul to improve culture and productivity, and Wilson said they plan to hire roughly 100 new employees over the coming year.
There’s a number of benefits to this approach, Wilson said:
…it opens up multiple talent pools for us and gives us access to people who we otherwise might not be able to bring onboard… then there’s the amazing diversity of thought you get from having one team spread over different cultures and countries…
Finally, there’s a certain momentum you gain from having the baton passed constantly between a team in one location finishing their day just as another is winding up for theirs.
So not only is Call of Duty 2020 production reportedly going smoothly, but Activision and Sledgehammer are planning for a bigger and better future for the series and the folks responsible for it. Even though we didn’t see it mentioned during last week’s Inside Xbox, we’d be surprised if CoD 2020 wasn’t on next-gen systems as a crossover game, too.
The full interview is on VentureBeat. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Call of Duty news as it develops.
