The internet thinks it's discovered the release year for PS5 and Xbox Scarlett, all thanks to a Call of Duty job listing
Infinity Ward is hiring for an "exciting, unannounced next gen title"... wait a second, isn't it making next year's Call of Duty?
As the PS4 and Xbox One enter the twilight years of their life cycle with the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2, Anthem, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the internet is awash with rumours and talk of what's next for Microsoft and Sony in the console market.
While we do have some concrete info about the technology and ambitions for both Xbox Project Scarlett and the PS5 respectively, details are still fairly scarce, especially when it comes to any news of a release schedule. The current bookings are on a 2020 launch for the next generation consoles, but a new job listing on LinkedIn has got people wondering whether we could be seeing them even earlier than that.
The best new games of 2019 (and beyond)
Infinity Ward, the Activision owned studio behind the acclaimed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, recently posted a job vacancy on the recruitment site for a Temporary Associate Game Designer, who would need to have "a strong interest and passion for First Person Shooter (FPS) games" to work on "an exciting, unannounced next gen title."
Ok, a next gen Call of Duty game is in the works... so what? Well, putting our deductive reasoning hats on for a second, we know that Infinity Ward is scheduled to release next year's Call of Duty game. Is this the unannounced next gen title in the job listing and, if so, does that mean both the PS5 and Xbox Project Scarlett will be out in time for its launch?
As evidenced by the upcoming release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the annual instalment in Activision's shooter franchise typically releases during the Holiday season. From a glass half full perspective, that means we could be playing on a next gen console by this time next year. Of course, when it comes to predictions like this, glass half full perspectives are considered wishful thinking at best, so don't take this as confirmation of a 2019 release for either the PS5 and Xbox Project Scarlett in any way.
Perhaps, for instance, Infinity Ward isn't making next year's Call of Duty title at all, or maybe the studio is recruiting for its 2022 instalment instead. Call of Duty 2019 could even be a cross-gen title similar to Call of Duty: Ghosts or, better yet, Infinity War might be working on a brand new IP for 2020. Basically, there's plenty of other possible theories that could corroborate with this newly surfaced job listing, so we'll be keeping our next-gen release date betting money firmly in our pockets for the time being, thank you very much.
Let us know what you think of this news in the comments, and if you're excited by Call of Duty's next-gen future, here's 5 other games that are definitely coming to PS5 and Xbox Scarlett (and 4 that might).
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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!