Activision is working on a secret big budget RPG and Sledgehammer is involved

Activision is working on a secret big budget RPG and Sledgehammer is involved Michael Beckwith Published January 27, 2026 4:57pm Updated January 27, 2026 4:58pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s developer is also believed to have an unannounced role-playing game in the works (Activision)

A new Activision studio is working on a big budget role-playing game, as rumours suggest Sledgehammer Games is as well.

Despite owning plenty of different franchises, and developers, all Activision is really known for nowadays is Call Of Duty. They hardly publish anything else anymore, including games made by their own developers and third party titles.

Studios like Raven Software and Beenox used to work on their own projects, but now they exist only as support studios, assisting the three main Call Of Duty developers: Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games.

This hyper focus risks coming back to bite Activision now that Call Of Duty is being outshone by Battlefield 6, but it looks like we may finally get a wholly original non-Call Of Duty game out of the company, and it’s a new role-playing game to boot.

According to a recently spotted job listing on LinkedIn, Polish studio Elsewhere Entertainment is looking for a senior cinematic animator to work on ‘an open world role-playing game set in a new, epic IP.’

If you’ve not heard of Elsewhere Entertainment, it was only formed under Activision back in 2024. It’s made up of developers whose credits include Cyberpunk 2077, the Uncharted games, and The Division, and it’s stated goal is to focus on ‘creating a new narrative-based and genre-defining AAA franchise.’

Expert, exclusive gaming analysis

Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.

Assuming development began when the studio opened, this project is likely still several years away (LinkedIn)

The last time Activision released something that wasn’t Call Of Duty related was the ill-fated free-to-play Crash Team Rumble multiplayer spin-off by Toys For Bob, which launched in June 2023. It was supported for only nine months, with Toys For Bob splitting off and going independent.

There was also things like Diablo 4 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 recently, but the former is handled by Blizzard and the latter was developed externally at Iron Galaxy. So, for Activision itself to be working on something unrelated to Call Of Duty is highly unusual.

What makes things even more interesting is that Sledgehammer Games (lead developer on 2023’s Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3) is working on a role-playing game as well.

This is according to the LinkedIn profile for Ben Wanat, who was a senior creative director at the studio until last August. His profile mentions that before he left, he served as creative director on an ‘unannounced action role-playing game.’

Elsewhere Entertainment has around 130 employees, which is a fair size for an unproven studio, but it’s possible that Sledgehammer is helping them out on the new role-playing game – not that the studio has any experience in the genre.

In fact, there were rumblings of Infinity Ward making a role-playing game back in 2022 thanks to, you guessed it, a job listing. As highlighted by CharlieIntel at the time, Infinity Ward was seeking a narrative director who could work at the studio’s offices in Poland (where Elsewhere Entertainment is now based) for an ‘open world role-playing game.’

A job description on Infinity Ward’s site says Activision is looking for a Narrative Director for Infinity Ward’s Poland office to work on an unannounced “open world RPG” title. https://t.co/i4xCUmCFDW pic.twitter.com/cZOG4p9dAT

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) June 12, 2022

It’s entirely possible that this project has been percolating for years within Activision and has been moved about to different studios before the company decided to form a new one to take charge, so the rest could focus on Call Of Duty.

More Trending

1. 

   Escape From Ever After review - Paper Mario goes indie

   Channel: Gaming Gaming 2 days ago By Nick Gillett
2. The 19 best Ubisoft games of the last 40 years – from Assassin's Creed to ZombiU
3. Nintendo Switch Online leak spoils two upcoming GameCube re-releases
4. Resident Evil Requiem preview - how to exceed expectations with Leon S. Kennedy

Whatever the case, there’s no denying that Activision desperately needs to diversify its portfolio and given how successful Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been, it’d make sense for Activision to start considering tapping into the role-playing game market.

That’s especially true given that Call Of Duty isn’t the safe money maker it used to be anymore, following years of widespread complaints from players. The latest entry, Black Ops 7, has sold poorly (for a Call Of Duty game) and the negativity amongst fans is at an all-time high.

Activision even apologised for the game’s launch and now intends to no longer release back-to-back Modern Warfare and Black Ops games. That doesn’t mean an end to annual releases in general, though, with this year’s entry rumoured to be another Modern Warfare sequel, albeit one set in Korea.

Black Ops 7 has been anything but a hit (Activision)

Email [email protected], leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Arrow MORE: Monster Hunter Wilds is nearly a year old and still struggling to sell

Arrow MORE: PS5 State of Play rumoured for February alongside another Nintendo Direct

Arrow MORE: Nintendo Switch Online leak spoils two upcoming GameCube re-releases

Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source GameCentral

Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.

Email I agree to receive newsletters from Metro I agree to receive newsletters from Metro Sign UpSign Up

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy