Call of Duty devs are “down” for a permanent fixture of maps to remain year over year

Could the Call of Duty series ever feature a permanent set of multiplayer maps that carry over from one annual release to the next? While nothing is set in stone, Infinity Ward’s Multiplayer Design Director Geoff Smith was certainly keen on the idea in our exclusive interview.

Death, taxes, and a new Call of Duty game every year are the only three certainties in life. Well, while details around 2023’s potential release remain murky, that’s at least been the case with Activision’s best-selling CoD franchise for the better part of 20 years now.

With each new iteration typically comes a new setting, new features, and of course, a new batch of multiplayer maps as dev teams rotate through the series. From Infinity Ward to Treyarch and Raven, each major studio has its own way of handling things and thus, every 12 month-period is effectively a fresh start on the cycle.

However, that isn’t the case elsewhere in the realm of CoD. In CoD Mobile, for instance, it’s one continuously evolving game that simply gets updated with new seasonal content on a monthly basis. Yet while new maps are flying through thick and fast, an existing lineup of CoD’s most iconic locations remains intact, always there for fans to enjoy.

It’s this idea at Dexerto been in favor of for mainline CoD to mirror for a number of years now, and we finally got the chance to pitch it directly to those in charge. In speaking with Infinity Ward’s Geoff Smith, he agreed it was a nifty idea and one the team would “be down” to copy.

“It hasn’t [been discussed] but I think it’s a good point,” Smith said on the idea of having a selection of iconic CoD maps sticking around year in and year out.

On the plus side, he supported the notion to help with competitive integrity. Having the same set of maps playable every year without fail, rather than wiping the slate clean, could go a long way in keeping things balanced at the highest level of play in particular.

“I think for strategy and play, that makes a lot of sense,” he continued. “We would be down. It’s more just about picking that roster.”

One concern, however, would be its sustainability in the long run. Smith questioned whether fans would still be excited to tune in and watch competitions featuring the same maps a full decade down the road. “I would wonder if Dust II for 10 years is still watchable. That’s the big thing. It’s competition, but it’s also entertainment.”

Ultimately, the decision to test such an idea in the mainline CoD series is out of the developer’s hands for the time being. “That’s down to the business side of how they want to run that.”

Would it be logical on the financial side for Activision to carry select Call of Duty maps across from year to year without charging for them again? Most likely not. But would it be a huge benefit to the community and in particular, the competitive crowd? Unquestionably. So while nothing is set in stone for now, it’s seemingly something Infinity Ward would support should the idea gain traction internally.