The latest "Call of Duty" rumors are in and they might prove to be a doozy. Whereas rumors indicate that "Battlefield 5" will go to the past, reports now suggest that "Call of Duty" 2016 will do the opposite and go into the future.
How far into the future you ask? The reports don't give a date, but do say that "Call of Duty" 2016 will feature space combat between warring sci-fi groups in the "far flung future."
The rumors of "Call of Duty" 2016 entering full-fledged space combat emerged online over the weekend, from serial industry source Shinobi. Eurogamer, the gaming site which first featured the report, indicates that Shinobi's assertions are in-line with what the publication has independently heard from other sources.
Neither source indicates whether the game will see the entirety of its combat in space, or just a small portion of it.
So how likely is this latest rumor to be true? Well, space isn't entirely far-fetched for Activision and the "Call of Duty" series. Though it never evolved into full-fledged space combat, previous entries in the series such as Advanced Warfare and Black Ops 3 have strayed into the near-future.
In a similar vein, evidence shows that Activision was considering a Call of Duty game in space at one point. In May 2010, the publisher trademarked a game called "Call of Duty: Space Warfare," only to abandon the trademark in August 2014.
Likewise in 2013, former Infinity Ward producer Mark Rubin said a Call of Duty game set in space "makes sense." But noted there would be several difficulties developers would need to tackle if they bring "Call of Duty" into outer space.
"Grenades wouldn't work exactly right," he said. "Kill Streaks wouldn't work at all--can't have a helicopter in outer space. Or a dog for that matter."
"Challenges are good," he added. "There might be ways around it. Maybe it's not just floating around in space, maybe it's [...] inside the space station."
Curiously, the possibility of a "Space Warfare" title contradicts previous rumors which indicate that "Call of Duty 2016" would be a direct sequel of its previous Call of Duty effort, Ghosts. At the very least, the report indicates that it won't be.
As with all rumors of its ilk, take this with a grain of salt, however since the sources have accurately reported on unannounced items before, it might be safe to be a little more optimistic this time around.
"Call of Duty" is expected to launch this November for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and go head-to-head with EA's own FPS "Battlefield 5."
In the meantime, we can expect Activision to do an official reveal before E3, with a proper first look and gameplay demo to be displayed during the actual convention. Do note that Activision won't have a booth at the convention this year, instead partnering with Sony to showcase the game at the event.
