Rumors claim Sledgehammer Games developing Call of Duty 2021

Liam Mackay
Sledgehammer games rumored to make CoD 2021

Although there is no official word on what the next Call of Duty title will be, or who’s developing it, reliable leaker Tom Henderson believes Sledgehammer Games will be working on the next release.

We’re months away from having any information surrounding Call of Duty 2021. The only thing we know for sure is that it’s not being developed by Treyarch Studios, as they only recently released Black Ops Cold War and will be maintaining and updating it over 2021.

Popular Call of Duty leaker Tom Henderson, formerly known as YouTuber Long Sensation, believes that CoD 2021 will be helmed by Sledgehammer Games.

Sledgehammer Games developing CoD 2021?

On January 3, Henderson Tweeted out a Call of Duty development timeline for the past year in which has all three studios fall into place.

He clarified that this is not a leak, but an educated guess based on Call of Duty’s development times. This year’s title is on the slate for November 2021 and Infinity Ward was still developing Warzone until September 2020, so that would only give them 14 months to develop a new CoD game.

https://twitter.com/_TomHenderson_/status/1345755754796621826

Sledgehammer Games has reportedly been working on a new Call of Duty title since August 2019 which is a far more reasonable timeframe for a 2021 release. Therefore, Henderson made the educated guess that SH will be developing Call of Duty 2021.

Sledgehammer Games will be known to most Call of Duty fans for developing Advanced Warfare and WWII. These games had a mixed reception and for the past few years, SH has been assisting Infinity Ward and Treyarch with recent titles.

However, they have confirmed they are working on multiple projects and have opened up a new studio in Australia, and hired over 150 employees. It’s possible that the expansion is to develop CoD 2021.

As for the setting for this year’s Call of Duty, Henderson doesn’t believe it will be set far in the future like Advanced Warfare. He is confident that Sledgehammer’s game will integrate with Warzone in the same way that Black Ops Cold War did in 2020. It’s unlikely that a futuristic laser rifle will be added to Warzone so the time period shouldn’t stray too far from the modern-day.

“Advanced Warfare 2 and a WWII sequel are both plausible,” said Henderson during a livestream. He followed up in a YouTube video that an Advanced Warfare sequel could act as a prequel.

Some fans believe the Sledgehammer Melee Weapon coming to Cold War is a breadcrumb hinting at the future of Call of Duty, but that’s unlikely.

Image Credits: Sledgehammer Games

About The Author

Liam is CharlieIntel's Editor who focuses on Call of Duty but also plays lots of fantasy RPGs or anything else in his massive gaming backlog. After graduating in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, Liam freelanced in games journalism before joining CharlieIntel in November 2020. You can contact Liam at [email protected].