Activision makes Call of Duty: Ghosts official

That Modern Warfare label was soooo last gen…

So of course there wasn’t any actual gameplay (or any shots of the game at all) in that teaser, that’ll be on the way for E3 next month, but there was a health dose of ‘new’ in there.

“Everyone was expecting us to make Modern Warfare 4, which would have been the safe thing to do. But we’re not resting on our laurels,” said Mark Rubin, executive producer of developer Infinity Ward. “We saw the console transition as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter for Call of Duty. So we’re building a new sub-brand, a new engine, and a lot of new ideas and experiences for our players. We can’t wait to share them with our community.”

So is this a CoD for the ‘next generation’ only? The short answer is ‘no’ as Ghosts is also on the docket for launch on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 (as well as the PC), but there’s a serious emphasis being put on next gen in the press release (as you can see above) and on the next Xbox in particular.

So much so that the official reveal for the game will be taking place at Microsoft’s Xbox: The Next Generation Revealed briefing on the 21st of this month. The brief is widely expected to be the announcement of the Xbox 360’s successor and the showing of Ghosts pretty much cements that rumor as fact.

“We are consistently thrilled with the overwhelming response received from critics and consumers alike to the Call of Duty series, which has firmly established its home on the Xbox 360 with the game’s largest and most engaged community,” said Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft. “With Call of Duty: Ghosts, we have no doubt that our longtime partners, Activision and Infinity Ward, will raise the bar higher than ever before for this incredible franchise.”

CoD fans, it probably goes without saying that you should be circling May 21st in your calendars right about now- and you might also want to head down to your local retailer, because Call of Duty: Ghosts is available for preorder right now at outlets “worldwide”.