Call of Duty 2020 rumor suggests Black Ops 5 development in poor state

Joe Craven

The development of the 2020 Call of Duty release is apparently in turmoil, after reportedly being taken over by Treyarch who are now required to rush a game within only two years of their latest title.

While the majority of the CoD community gears up for October 25 and the release of Modern Warfare, some fans are casting their minds forward to the game that will succeed Infinity Ward’s upcoming installment. 

There is (obviously) limited news regarding CoD 2020, given the fact it is so far away. However, a Kotaku report previously stated that the project was given to Treyarch following problems in the development cycle at Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software, who were in charge of the title initially.

Black Ops 4 is Treyarch’s latest game and featured battle royale for the first time in CoD history.

This breaks the recently established Call of Duty cycle, that saw Sledgehammer, Treyarch and Infinity Ward alternate since Advanced Warfare. It means that the time Treyarch has to create another game has essentially been halved, as they only have Modern Warfare’s one-year life cycle to follow up 2018’s Black Ops 4. 

Rumors so far have pointed towards another installment in the Black Ops series but, according to recent leaks from YouTuber and leaker TheGamingRevolution, the game’s title is not yet decided. 

TGR has claimed to reveal numerous details on Modern Warfare, but branched out to its successor on October 5. Hosting a Q&A with a CoD “source”, TGR tweeted that the game’s “current state (is) 3/10. Its name is still being thrown around between “BO5” and “Black Ops” or another Black Ops themed name.”

The notion of struggles at Treyarch would fit with the Kotaku report suggesting they have been handed the project at late notice. It would see a reversion to the formula of older CoD titles, where Infinity Ward and Treyarch would alternate yearly. 

While unconfirmed, many fans will be disappointed with the claims. Black Ops 4 underwhelmed some community members, who are now expressing a desire for a move away from the Black Ops series, after four consecutive installments from Treyarch.

However, other users encouraged calm, arguing that it’s only natural for the game to be in such an early stage due to the late notice Treyarch were given. 

While these reports are unconfirmed, TheGamingRevolution has been correct in a number of his leaks up to now, including correctly predicting the 2v2 Gunfight mode in Modern Warfare. 

There is no real way of knowing what is happening behind the scenes at Treyarch, so we’ll have to stay tuned for official announcements.