Activision has confirmed that the next Call of Duty is not being developed for PS4, shutting down recent rumors that the 2026 entry would continue supporting Sony’s last-gen console.
Is Call of Duty finally leaving the PS4 behind?
The clarification came from the official Call of Duty account on X, which responded to the rumor by saying, “Not sure where this one started, but it’s not true. The next Call of Duty is not being developed for PS4.” The company did not mention Xbox One in the post, so that part is still not officially confirmed. However, if PS4 is being dropped, Xbox One support is likely ending as well.
The rumor had claimed that the next Call of Duty, widely believed to be Modern Warfare 4, was being tested for PS4. The rumor renewed debate around how long Call of Duty should continue supporting last-gen consoles.
Call of Duty has stayed cross-gen for almost the entire PS5 era. Since Sony launched the PS5 in 2020, Black Ops Cold War, Vanguard, Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, Black Ops 6, and Black Ops 7 have all released on PS4. Recent entries also continued supporting Xbox One, including Modern Warfare III, Black Ops 6, and Black Ops 7.
Could this push more PS4 players to upgrade?
The PS4 audience is still large. Sony’s 2024 corporate report listed around 49 million monthly active PS4 consoles and 49 million monthly active PS5 consoles, meaning PS4 still represented about half of active PlayStation console usage at that point. Sony’s 2025 update showed PS5 had finally moved ahead, but PS4 remained a big chunk of the player base.
Call of Duty’s decision could become a serious push for PS4 holdouts. The series is one of the few annual blockbuster franchises that has continued to support older hardware deep into the PS5 cycle. Once that support ends, players who want the next entry may have to move to newer consoles.
The timing is especially difficult because the PS6 timeline now looks less certain. Sony’s next console was previously rumored for a possible 2027 debut, but reports around the ongoing memory and NAND shortage suggest that window may slip to 2028 or later. That leaves PS4 players in an awkward spot. Some may have been waiting to skip the PS5 entirely, but if the next Call of Duty leaves PS4 behind before the PS6 arrives, they may have to choose between buying a PS5 now or waiting longer without access to the series’ newest entry.