Call of Duty's Marketing Chief: 'We Pay a Call of Duty Tax' in Media Coverage

Ever feel like you already know everything about the next Call of Duty before it's even announced? That's kind of the point Activision's marketing boss is making — and he says it's a problem.

In a recent interview with The Game Business, Activision chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl talked about how the press covers Call of Duty these days. His take? Outlets still report on the series, but it's become more like paying a "Call of Duty tax" — something they do because they have to, not because they're excited.

Bahl's bigger worry is that the series has been around so long that people forget how much work goes into each entry. "I think we do get media coverage, but we call it the 'Call of Duty tax,'" he said. He contrasted that with the indie scene, where Steam sees new games every day that still manage to build hype and find fans.

"Call of Duty has been around for a long time in many ways. So people sometimes forget how much effort goes into making these games. We have 4,500 employees here, all working hard to build the best experience possible," Bahl said.

He also thinks the player base gets taken for granted. According to Bahl, Call of Duty has 100 million free-to-play players, lifetime sales of 500 million copies, and 1 billion cumulative mobile downloads. With numbers that big, he argues, the scale starts to feel normal — and gets overlooked.

"I think such a huge player base is sometimes overlooked, or just gradually taken for granted. Through this year's marketing campaign, we want to show the expertise required to make these games, and the effort and passion the dev teams put in," he said. That means this year's push isn't about bigger, flashier trailers — it's about going behind the scenes and back to the core of making games.

Of course, all that effort doesn't change the bottom line for players: a Call of Duty game ultimately lives or dies on whether it's fun. And the discussion around the series isn't slowing down. Circana senior director and game industry advisor Mat Piscatella weighed in on social media: "Last year, when games underperformed, everyone blamed Game Pass. This year, the problem became the media. When Modern Warfare 4 underperforms, they'll probably blame GTA."

So what do you think — does Call of Duty get a fair shake from the press, or is the fatigue real? Will you be picking up the next one?