Worried about Call of Duty under Xbox? — Former CoD director Glen Schofield is

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Glen Schofield has a long and successful career in the gaming industry. He was a key figure in several popular Call of Duty titles, including co-directing Modern Warfare 3 (2011) and serving as game director for Advanced Warfare (2014) and WWII (2017). He also worked as an executive producer on the acclaimed game Dead Space (2008). Despite this impressive background, Schofield has recently expressed concerns about the future of the Call of Duty series now that it’s owned by Xbox.

At Gamescom Asia in Bangkok, Michael Schofield discussed his vision for the future of the video game industry with Video Games Chronicle after giving a keynote speech. He specifically talked about his thoughts on Call of Duty and the challenges facing the industry as a whole. Let’s take a look at what he said and consider whether his concerns are justified.

The context: What Schofield actually said about Call of Duty under Xbox

In a recent interview with Video Game Chronicle, Jason Schofield expressed his concerns about the future of Call of Duty. He explained that he’s worried about the challenges the game might face now that Microsoft, a very large company, owns the franchise, and he went on to say:

The main reason Call of Duty releases a new game every year is financial – skipping a year would mean losing a billion dollars. I’m really concerned about the trend of franchises disappearing, like what’s happening with Gears of War and Halo. When you look at big companies like EA, you see so many games and series just get dropped. Once a studio is bought out, it seems to adopt the parent company’s habits. I suspect the Call of Duty bonus system, which incentivized yearly releases, is gone, and now they’re using a different system, which might not be well-received.

Glen Schofield

I found it interesting that he brought up both Gears and Halo, and it really got me thinking about how much those series have changed over time. Halo, in particular, hasn’t been doing so well since 343 Industries took the reins, to be honest. But the recent changes at Halo Studios offer a little bit of hope for the future, even with the art director recently leaving and posting a strange message before they did.

Honestly, I don’t think it’s right to put Call of Duty in the same category as those other games. I understand people have concerns about Microsoft’s business practices, but it often seems like they’d prioritize profit – and especially funding for AI – over almost anything else.

For years, Call of Duty has been searching for a clear direction, with odd cosmetic items and a heavy focus on making money. Players purchase the game, but then encounter additional costs through battle passes and frequent small purchases as soon as they start playing. These problems with Call of Duty existed long before Microsoft’s involvement.

Call of Duty needs breathing room, not another release cycle

I agree with Schofield’s point that Call of Duty is releasing games too quickly. Because of this fast pace, there isn’t enough time for each game to fully develop and improve, with new features often saved for the next installment. This is particularly evident with Black Ops 7, which came out so soon after Black Ops 6.

Schofield goes on in the interview to say:

I was really fortunate to work at EA during a particularly successful period. There were so many talented people there. Later, at Activision, I had the chance to work on Modern Warfare 3 (released in 2011).

Glen Schofield

For many of us, the 2011 release of Modern Warfare 3 was a high point in the Call of Duty series. While I personally prefer Black Ops 3 – I’ve always been a Zombies fan – it’s clear how much the game has changed since then.

Hopefully, Activision can recapture what made their games great. There are signs of that happening with the upcoming Black Ops 7, as they seem to be paying attention to what players want. It’s likely that the recent launch of Battlefield 6 – which sold 7 million copies in just three days – is also pushing them to improve.

It’s starting to feel like Microsoft has changed more to fit Activision’s culture than the other way around. Lately, decisions seem to prioritize numbers over the concerns of fans, which is a big shift from when Phil Spencer first led Xbox and focused heavily on the community. Now, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood appear to be driving things, and the focus feels different.

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2025-10-17 17:41