Activision's Chief Marketing Officer, Tyler Bahl, believes that the Call of Duty series has long enjoyed a massive audience, leading some to take its continued presence for granted, thereby overlooking the production work behind each installment. Activision internally refers to this phenomenon as the "Call of Duty Tax."
When asked whether traditional game media coverage has shifted more towards creators and player communities, Bahl stated that traditional media still covers Call of Duty, but the scale of the series and the team's efforts are less frequently the focus of discussion. He noted that Activision has 4,500 employees dedicated to making the games; Call of Duty boasts 100 million free-to-play players, has sold 500 million copies cumulatively, and its mobile games have reached 1 billion downloads. These figures were cited by Bahl as examples to illustrate his point.
Bahl also mentioned the attention garnered by indie games and the constant stream of new releases on Steam. He stated that Activision's marketing this year aims to highlight the development process and team dedication, rather than continuing with the louder advertising campaigns of the past.
The new entry in the series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, is scheduled to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC on October 23.