Is Infinity Ward already teasing the new Call of Duty? Maybe, but reports say it's not Ghosts 2

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has only just released its first batch of DLC, but the internet is already talking about the next instalment in Activision's mammoth first-person shooter franchise. That's because Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward is back on its rotational duties as the lead team on 2019's upcoming Call of Duty game, and it looks like the studio is already teasing what's in store for the fanbase. 

Infinity Ward's Senior Communications Manager Ashton Williams has been tweeting strange, contextless gifs throughout the past month, together featuring clear recurring imagery of skulls and skeletons. Naturally, this has led many to speculate that the studio's next game is a sequel to 2013's Call of Duty: Ghosts, which took place in the near future and focused on the skull mask brandishing special ops force known as the Ghosts. 

However, in a Resetera thread discussing the speculation, Kotaku's Jason Schreier debunked those predictions, simply stating "It ain't Ghosts 2!", though refrained from revealing anything more. Instead, rumours surfaced last year that Infinity Ward was developing another sequel in its seminal Modern Warfare franchise, and it is indeed possible that Ghost, a key character from that series, could be its central star, hence Williams' skull-themed tweets. Ghost died in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, of course, but there's a strong possibility that 2019's follow-up could be a prequel, taking place before the events of the trilogy so far.

Traditionally, Call of Duty games aren't announced until the late Spring of each year, so don't expect any more news for the next few months. Activision likely still wants to give Black Ops 4 its breathing space, after all, and it's entirely possible that Williams is just posting spooky skull gifs because spooky skull gifs are cool. Regardless, we want to know what you make of these curious teases, so let us know your thoughts about these strange developments in the comments below. 

We may not know what the next Call of Duty looks like just yet, but here's the best new games of 2019 that are officially scheduled for this year. 

Alex Avard

I'm GamesRadar's Features Writer, which makes me responsible for gracing the internet with as many of my words as possible, including reviews, previews, interviews, and more. Lucky internet! 

Latest in Call of Duty
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Call of Duty season 2 brings back Gun Game and a fan-favorite Zombies weapon we haven't seen in 10 years
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
136,000 Call of Duty accounts have gotten banned since ranked launched for Black Ops 6: "We’re not slowing down in our mission to shut down cheaters"
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War reportedly surpasses Red Dead Redemption 2's huge development costs, with a massive $700 million budget
Black Ops 6
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 makes headshots deadlier while cutting back on weapon sway and recoil: "We will be keeping a close eye on sniper balance after this change"
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 movement.
Black Ops 6 player spent nearly 20 hours grinding to Prestige without getting a single kill, all by spamming Spy Cams
Black Ops 6 Zombies
Call of Duty hacker says "I had my fun" after reportedly getting thousands of Warzone and Modern Warfare 3 players falsely banned
Latest in News
Adam Scott as Mark S and Britt Lower as Helly R in Severance season 2
There might have been another reason for Mark's decision in the Severance season 2 finale
Silent Hill f art showing a person covered in plants
Silent Hill f has been pre-emptively banned in Australia, with no reason given for the 'refused classification' rating
Assassin's Creed Shadows review gameplay showing Yasuke overlooking the sea and lush green scenery
Assassin's Creed Shadows has already "surpassed the launches of AC Origins and Odyssey" with 2 million players and counting
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing someone using a big gun
Helldivers 2 boss says "death and rebirth" is a natural part of the games industry, but it's "unnecessarily brutal" right now "because we don't diversify enough"
A Dragon Age character stares out against a blue background.
BioWare makes a return to Dragon Age: The Veilguard with a surprise PC update, months after layoffs and a seemingly final patch
God of War 3
God of War PSP's seamless loading was only possible because a Jak & Daxter game was also running in the background