Activision confirms next Call of Duty game will not be available on older consoles: Here’s what the company said

Activision has confirmed that the next instalment in the Call of Duty series will not be developed for the PlayStation 4. This announcement has signalled a shift away from older hardware for the company. The official Call of Duty account on the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) has clarified that reports claiming the 2026 title will continue to support last-generation consoles are false.Activision did not confirm all platforms or the name of the upcoming game, but the statement represents a shift to newer systems as the franchise moves forward. The move could mark the end of cross-generation releases that have continued for over a decade.In a post shared on Call of Duty’s X account, Activision wrote: “Not sure where this one started, but it’s not true. The next Call of Duty is not being developed for PS4.” However, the company didn’t confirm whether the upcoming Call of Duty title will be available on older Xbox hardware.

List of consoles that may not support Call of Duty's next game and what it means for developers

Although Activision only explicitly mentioned the PlayStation 4, the decision raises questions about support for the Xbox One, which shares similar hardware limitations. Previous Call of Duty titles have launched on both console generations, so dropping PS4 support could be a bigger departure from older platforms.The franchise has a history of cross-gen releases, such as Call of Duty: Ghosts, which launched on older and newer consoles in 2013. Even recent entries such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 were available across multiple platforms, including PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.Moving away from older consoles gives developers a more consistent hardware environment. Systems like the PS4 and Xbox One rely on earlier-generation AMD Jaguar-based processors, which can limit performance and features. Some features that were already scaled back on older hardware in previous titles. For example, the systems lacked split-screen capability.The transition is also expected to free developers to focus on new consoles, perhaps leading to performance, design and gameplay improvements without having to cater to older hardware limitations.