Changes are coming to the Call of Duty franchise’s upcoming release in 2023, and players will remain settled in the modern era.

In a new report from Bloomberg, Activision has modified its annual Call of Duty release schedule plans. Shifting away from a planned expansion for Modern Warfare, reports now state that it will move towards another full game set in the Modern era, to be developed by Sledgehammer Games. Previous reports last year stated that plans for Call of Duty in 2023 would be an experimental phase for the franchise, focusing on a high-end expansion for last year’s Modern Warfare 2, which is apparently scaled up for a full release.

Though no official details are out as of this time, the Bloomberg report stated that the game would focus on a continuation of Modern Warfare 2 and its systems, but it will not be Modern Warfare 3. Sledgehammer Games, the developers behind Call of Duty: Vanguard, will be heading up the game’s development, with support coming from other Activision studios, including Infinity Ward and Treyarch.

According to previous reports, the original plan for COD 2023 was to maintain growth and support for Modern Warfare 2, which is now the fastest-selling game to hit $1 billion in franchise history. In the Bloomberg report, this shift has caused concerns among the development team at Sledgehammer Games. However, anonymous staff has stated that Activision is putting significant resources toward the new game to ensure its release in 2023.

A change of direction for Call of Duty

Traditionally, Call of Duty games would switch off between different installments made by alternating teams; the Modern Warfare series from Infinity Ward, the Black Ops series from Treyarch, and different variations and experimental games from Sledgehammer Games. However, recent years have seen the franchise go through some growing pains, with some developers having to ship games sooner than expected or having more time than expected.

With the growing reports about the development of the COD 2023, and the looming Activision/Microsoft merger still in litigation, this year will likely see the franchise in its most unusual spot. Still, the franchise will continue on as planned.

Furthermore, Activision has also pledged to release future COD games on the Nintendo Switch and Nvidia’s games streaming service.

Alessandro Fillari is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @afillari.

We got our first early at the events of Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion during Sony’s February State of Play showcase. Launching next week on February 28, Lightfall sees the Guardians embrace the Strand darkness power to even the odds against The Witness and their army.

In the cinematic trailer showing the next major phase of Destiny 2, we see the Guardians prepare for their fight against The Witness and Callus’ Shadow Legion of Cabal. The trailer highlighted the immense scale of the battle, which brings many different factions from the Destiny universe to face off against the growing forces of Darkness. We also looked at the new Cloud Strider faction in the city of Neomuna, located on Neptune.

BREAKING: Lightfall Launch Trailer pic.twitter.com/GECpFgKxzL

— DestinyTracker ? (@destinytrack) February 23, 2023

We also got new footage of Destiny 2’s upcoming Stand subclass along with the new story beats. This new class will allow Warlocks, Titans, and Hunters to manipulate energy to bind enemies, use a grappling hook across levels, and even command smaller energy beings to attack foes.

Destiny 2 is in its final week of Witch Queen seasonal events before the launch of the Lightfall expansion, and the community is wrapping up missions and unlocks before the big reset for Lightfall. Today, Bungie also announced that Witch Queen and its exotic weapons will be free for all players for this weekend until February 26. The Monday before Lightfall drops will see a day-long update ahead of the expansion, with the game opening back up on launch day.

For more on the game revealed during the State of Play livestream, go check out IGN’s full breakdown of the event.

2023 might finally be the year where 2TB PS5 SSDs might actually be worth the upgrade. Last year, prices for 1TB PS5 SSDs averaged around $150, whereas 2TB SSDs hovered closer to $300. This year, we’re seeing 1TB SSDs trickle below the $100 price point and 2TB SSDs are under $200. The reason PS5 SSD upgrades are pricey is that you can’t use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You’ll want to pick up an PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive with a rated 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive. That means, for better or for worse, picking a top-shelf SSD.

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD. Not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we’ll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don’t, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (we recommend this one for $10) and install it yourself. It’s very easy.

Samsung 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $159.99

Samsung SSDs need no introduction. They’ve made some of the most popular and reliable PS5 SSDs on the market. The 980 Pro has been out for a while now, but it’s still one of Samsung’s fastest M.2 PCIe SSD, with only the newly released 990 Pro being faster. It is fully PS5 compatible in terms of form factor and performance, with blistering speeds of up to 7,100MB/s. It goes toe to toe with other well-known options like the WD Black SN850 and the Seagate Firecuda 530.

WD Black 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $169.99

Amazon has the newest WD Black Series SN850X M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD for the best price we’ve seen. In fact, this is lower than the price we saw on Black Friday. The SN850X is the successor to the SN850 SSD. It has newer flash chips (BiCS5 vs BiCS4) and an updated firmware, which combined offer improved sequential and random read/write speeds. For PC gamers, there’s also an updated Game Mode 2.0 utility that’s designed to tune the SSD for better performance during gaming sessions.

Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB “Optimized for PS5” SSD with Heatsink for Only $169.99

Corsair is a very well known brand for DIY PC builders. Corsair makes some of the best gaming products on the market, and that includes solid-state memory like RAM and SSDs. The MP600 Pro is the same super-fast M.2 NVMe PCIe x4 Gen4 SSD that’s marketed for enthusiast gaming PC builds. This one is “optimized for PS5” because it includes a rugged preinstalled heatsink that is slim enough to fit in the PS5 bay without any issues. Performance wise, the MP600 Pro matches the best SSDs out there with its 7,100MB/sec sequential read and 6,800MB/sec sequential write speeds.

More PS5 SSD Deals

There may be other SSD deals out there, but these are the PS5 SSDs we’ve tried ourselves and highly recommend. They also double up as outstanding boot drives for your gaming PC, in case you don’t need additional storage for your PS5 console.

How easy is it to install the SSD?

It’s extremely easy! Removing the case cover is completely toolless. In fact, the only screw you have to remove is the one that keeps the cover for the SSD bay in place. You don’t even put it back when you’re done. Sony has a quick and easy YouTube video guide.

What if the SSD I bought doesn’t have a heatsink?

Sony recommends you install an SSD that has an attached heatsink. If the SSD you purchase doesn’t include one, it’s simple enough to buy one for about $10 on Amazon and add it yourself. Most of these heatsinks are just attached using an adhesive like thermal tape.

For more deals, take a look at our daily deals for today.

Battlefield’s next single-player campaign appears to be a big focus for EA DICE, as the company is reportedly building a new team to support Ridgeline Games in creating the franchise’s first single-player campaign since 2018’s Battlefield V.

Ridgeline games is a new studio led by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto. The studio was established last fall to create a new narrative campaign set in the Battlefield universe. Reported by GI.biz, the new support team is a slight change of course in the previously-established plan for the Battlefield series.

EA tasked three studios with the future of Battlefield: DICE was handed the multiplayer aspect, Ridgeline Games was to work on the single-player campaign, and Ripple Effect is making a “completely different” Battlefield experience. Now, DICE is expanding to help Ridgeline Games on the campaign while continuing work on multiplayer.

We just heard last December that former Battlefield 4 producer David Sirland returned to DICE to lead development of Battlefield. In addition to producing Battlefield 4, Sirland’s long history with the franchise includes credits on Battlefield 2, Bad Company, 1, and V.

Battlefield’s last entry was 2021’s Battlefield 2042, which was met with lukewarm reception. Players were frustrated with the lack of features at launch, and the game failed to draw in the same playerbase as Battlefield 1, 4, and V. EA is still releasing new content for Battlefield 2042, with Season 4 set to kick off on February 28.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.