After months of rumors that seemed increasingly likely, Activision confirmed in its quarterly earnings report today that the next Call of Duty is being developed by Sledgehammer Games In addition to supporting Black Ops - Cold War, the studio's last major project was "Call of Duty: WWII" in 2017.

"We are very excited about this year's premium Call of Duty release," said Dan Alegre, president and COO of Activision. 'It's being developed by Sledgehammer Games. The game looks great and is on track for a fall [2021] release."

"We're very excited to be working with Sledgehammer on the game.

Alegre also noted that the new game is designed to "integrate and enhance" Call of Duty: Warzone. No details were given, but it is expected that a similar integration with "Cold War" will probably take place in December. Currently, Warzone and Cold War share a single ecosystem for unlocking weapons and battle passes.

Sledgehammer's new CoD will naturally include single-player, multiplayer, and some sort of co-op mode; Activision did not comment on the setting of the new game, which is rumored to be codenamed "Vanguard." could be another return to World War II.

Judging by this cheeky tweet, Sledgehammer himself seems relieved that the news is finally confirmed.