Overview
- Schofield said he is “immensely” worried about Call of Duty under Microsoft, pointing to Halo and Gears of War as cautionary examples of diminished fortunes.
- He cautioned that assimilation into Xbox and a likely overhaul of legacy bonus schemes could undermine developer incentives and talent retention, stressing culture fit concerns.
- Arguing the series has slipped creatively since key departures, he cited exits including his own, Michael Condrey’s, and David Vonderhaar’s, and referenced low scores for Modern Warfare 3 (2023).
- Microsoft’s 2023 acquisition of Activision Blizzard brought CoD under Xbox, and last year’s Black Ops 6 launched day one on Game Pass with record player counts but a sharper-than-usual decline afterward.
- Schofield said the annual release cadence remains financially driven, claiming a pause would forgo about $1 billion per year, with Black Ops 7 scheduled to release on November 14.