COD leaker claims Sledgehammer Games is making Advanced Warfare 2

A reputable source within the Call of Duty community has come out to drop a major claim regarding Sledgehammer Games’ next project. According to RalphsValve, who has accurately published dozens of accurate reports in the past, Sledgehammer will be developing Advanced Warfare 2 after Vanguard’s life cycle ends.

Sledgehammer is the main developer behind Vanguard, which was the studio’s first title since WWII in 2017. Before that, the studio developed Advanced Warfare, its first-ever solo Call of Duty game. The developers also helped out with Modern Warfare 3, but they weren’t the main studio behind that game.

Reports from last year claimed that Sledgehammer wanted to make two sequels to Vanguard, both of which would likely be set near the World War II timeline. However, due to Vanguard’s lack of success, both in terms of monetization and overall player count, it seems the developers will veer away from the WWII setting.

Sledgehammer Games set to develop Advanced Warfare 2

Exclusive: https://t.co/jhpqZgTlkr

— Ralph (@RalphsValve) October 5, 2022

Instead, the devs will reportedly look toward the future, literally. RalphsValve claims the studio has already begun work on Advanced Warfare 2, which would simply be a sequel to the 2015 title. This game would reportedly be developed on the new IW9 engine, which is what all future Call of Duty games will run on, including this month’s Modern Warfare 2.

It remains unclear just how Advanced Warfare 2 will work. Sledgehammer was the first of the three mainline developers to introduce advanced movement with Advanced Warfare. Players could boost jump with jetpacks all around the map in that game while also running with their boots on the ground. However, this type of movement was widely controversial, so it remains to be seen if the developers would bring that advanced movement back or not.

Either way, it appears that Sledgehammer has until 2025 to figure out what it will do with Advanced Warfare 2. The studio’s next game will reportedly release one year after Treyarch’s next title in 2024, which might signify that the two-year development cycle MW2 is getting could be a one-and-done type of deal.