2023 will be the first time since 2004 that there won't be an annual Call of Duty release.

That's according to Bloomberg, which reports that Activision Blizzard has delayed the release to make sure that it meets expectations. The last few entries in the shooter franchise - Cold War and Vanguard - have not been met with the best critical or commercial response. There has been speculation that the free-to-play Warzone battle royale mode has worked to cannibalize sales of the premium entries in the series.

Apparently, the decision to bump 2023's Call of Duty has nothing to do with Activision Blizzard being sold to Microsoft for $68.7 billion.

“We have an exciting slate of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year and beyond,” an Activision spokesman said.

“We look forward to sharing more details when the time is right.”

To date, the Call of Duty franchise has sold more than 400 million units.