5 ways the Call of Duty series must reinvent itself before Battlefield 6 and REDSEC take over

The Call of Duty series is not in great shape as we start 2026. The latest entry, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, was a critical and financial failure for Activision. Many didn’t enjoy its single-player mode, noting a lack of checkpoints and no AI characters to help. At the time of writing, fewer than 20,000 players are active in the game, the lowest of the series.

Activision has since said it will focus on the future of Call of Duty, but as it stands, its battle royale spinoff, Warzone, is the only title keeping the series on life support. With this in mind, we’re listing five ways that Call of Duty can reinvent itself to restore its standing with longtime fans and esports players, as well as introduce new players to old classics.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was the 22nd mainline installment, although Black Ops is a sub-title of the franchise, as the previous title was 2020’s Black Ops Cold War. That sentence alone highlights how confusing it is to follow every mainline title, which is why it’s long overdue to reboot the series to redefine what Call of Duty is.

It’s the perfect time to learn from the past, to see what worked, what didn’t, and restart the series. Players want consistency and a way to follow the series without needing a flowchart to see which game from which sub-series has the best chance of appearing as the next mainline title. A reboot gives Call of Duty a great opportunity to rediscover what the series is known for and how it can compete in the modern first-person shooter genre.

Bringing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Remastered to modern platforms like the Nintendo Switch 2 is a surefire way to regain trust with players who have cut ties with the series. Released in 2020 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with updated graphics, a new version should also include remastered multiplayer with crossplay, a mode absent from the original.

Having this mode that lets esports players compete with others on different systems would be a fresh way for players to rediscover one of the series’ best entries, but without the extras that some games like Battlefield 6 include. No battle pass, no DLC, just a remastered multiplayer that’s simply fun to play. This alone could be the start of building bridges with the series’ playerbase.

A yearly schedule of Call of Duty games simply doesn’t work anymore. Players are smart enough to know that an annual cycle is too much for anyone, especially with games like Battlefield 6 having a roadmap of content for at least the next 12 months. Activision should bite the bullet and abandon this, instead focusing on new entries that come out every few years.

By all means, having Warzone around will keep the series’ playerbase engaged, but a hunger for a dedicated mainline title with a campaign mode will grow. It can build anticipation and bring back excitement for a new game. In addition, it would give the team more time to refine the title, which was clearly absent in Black Ops 7.

Since its debut as a stand-alone mode in 2008’s Call of Duty: World at War, Zombies has been one of the series’ most popular spin-offs, which is why it makes sense for it to finally be a stand-alone game. While Activision plans out the next decade for the series, it would be a great touch to make Zombies available as a spin-off title.

Featuring new takes on existing maps from the series’ past, with progression and mechanics like co-op and AI bot support, akin to Valve’s Left 4 Dead series, could be a great way to re-energise players’ enthusiasm for Call of Duty, as well as become a great entry for esports, while they wait for the newest mainline entry.

Call of Duty Warzone, the battle royale spinoff, has been a great battle royale game since its 2020 launch, but it’s starting to feel stagnant. Indeed, in our face-off between Warzone and REDSEC, Battlefield Studios’ new take on the genre in Battlefield 6 won out for us, with its classes and developer support winning out.

It’s time for some reinvention, starting with embracing the many eras the series has gone through. Different seasons should revamp the maps to reflect different time periods, from World War II to the Cold War, and beyond into the series’ future as seen in previous entries. This way, entire weapons and classes would be refreshed, keeping players interested as to what’s coming and how these eras would be featured in Warzone.

It’s long overdue for Call of Duty to have a reset. With games like Battlefield 6 and Fortnite offering players new and exciting ways to play first-person shooter campaigns and battle royale matches, it feels like Activision needs to rest the series to determine where Call of Duty should focus over the next decade.

A reboot feels like the logical step for the series. With the failure of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 still fresh in players’ minds, the time is now for Activision to go back to basics. Many remember playing earlier World War II titles fondly. Having a rebooted entry set for that time period would be a great start.

Nevertheless, Call of Duty can’t continue as it is with annual releases and disappointing campaign modes. If Microsoft and Activision want to keep the series relevant, adding a past entry on Switch 2, a different time period in Warzone, and a fresh reset would be great steps toward that goal.