Call of Duty 2016 Set in Space - Reports

This year's Call of Duty game will be set in space, according to reports from Shinobi and Eurogamer, two sources that have accurately reported on unannounced items before.

Shinobi claims the untitled game will be set in the "very far future," featuring "space combat." Overall, it's described by Shinobi as "full on sci-fi."

Eurogamer reports that this description matches up with what it independently heard as well. It remains to be seen if the game is completely set in space or just a portion of it. Activision declined to comment.

This year's Call of Duty game, which was confirmed during an Activision earnings briefing earlier this year, will be developed by Modern Warfare creator Infinity Ward. It's described as "innovative," and setting it in space would surely be something new for the series.

Wherever it's set, the game is not expected to make as much money as Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

Space is not entirely uncharted territory for the Call of Duty series. The opening section of 2013's Call of Duty: Ghosts, which was developed by Infinity Ward,  was set in space, but the action took place mostly inside of a space station.

Additionally, it appears that, at least at one point, Activision was considering a Call of Duty game in space. In May 2010, the publisher trademarked a game called Call of Duty: Space Warfare. However, Activision abandoned this trademark in August 2014. This doesn't mean the reports are wrong, necessarily, only that the game may not actually be subtitled Space Warfare.

In 2013, former Infinity Ward producer Mark Rubin said a Call of Duty game set in space "makes sense." But at the same time, he said there would be a number of gameplay and systems challenges to overcome.

"Grenades wouldn't work exactly right," he said. "Kill Streaks wouldn't work at all--can't have a helicopter in outer space. Or a dog for that matter.

"Challenges are good," he added. "There might be ways around it. Maybe it's not just floating around in space, maybe it's [...] inside the space station."

Activision typically announces the year's Call of Duty game during its February earnings briefing and then fully reveals the game in May. Activision won't have a booth at E3 2016 in June, but the company has partnered with Sony to showcase the new game at the event.

It is expected to launch this fall. We'll have more details on this year's Call of Duty game as they're announced.

What do you make of the idea of a Call of Duty game set in space? Let us know in the comments below!