( CNN ) -- Activision Blizzard is set to launch a new `` Call of Duty '' game for consoles alongside an ambitious digital platform later this year , Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said on the company 's earnings call Monday . Executives have expressed an especially keen excitement about the new platform features . They named `` Call of Duty '' as one of the two `` significant investments '' that Activision is making , which will include the company 's largest marketing campaign , Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said on the call . ( The other investment is in PC developer Blizzard , which is working on `` Diablo III '' and a new massively multiplayer online game franchise unrelated to `` World of Warcraft . '' ) `` This year 's 'Call of Duty ' initiatives will result in the best 'Call of Duty ' experiences we have created to date , '' Kotick said . In addition to paid features integrated into the platform , `` You will see a lot of new services and capabilities that will be provided free of charge to all of our customers , '' he said . The `` Call of Duty '' online service has been in development for two years under the name Project Beachhead , Hirshberg said . The company created a separate group , also called Beachhead , to focus full attention on the project , Kotick has said previously . Activision will begin briefing reporters in San Francisco later this week about the project under nondisclosure agreements . The company plans to make a formal announcement in the next several weeks , Kotick said . Still more details are expected in June for the Electronic Entertainment Expo . That a new entry in the `` Call of Duty '' series will be released this year is n't a bombshell . Activision has introduced a new game in that franchise each year since 2005 . The most recent , `` Call of Duty : Black Ops , '' was the top-selling game in the United States and Europe over the last three months . `` Black Ops '' still draws fervent crowds for its multiplayer features and continues to sell well . But that experience has been hampered by Sony Computer Entertainment 's shutdown of the PlayStation Network , with the online gaming service approaching three weeks of downtime this week . Activision intends to release a download package for `` Black Ops '' in the next three months . `` Hopefully the situation will be resolved by then , '' Hirshberg said . Cliff Bleszinski , the design director for Epic Games , which makes another popular shooting franchise called `` Gears of War , '' said he has doubts about `` Call of Duty 's '' viability . `` 'Call of Duty ' is doing well right now , but if I was one of the owners of that property , I 'd be concerned about potential fatigue , '' he said in a recent interview . This year 's new installment may be called `` Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 3 '' and debut in November , according to a report in the Los Angeles Times . `` The game has exceeded every internal milestone , '' Hirshberg said on Monday 's call .
Activision Blizzard plans to release a new ` `` Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 3 '' game two years . It will include a new social-network platform that 's been in the works for this year . ` ` Call of Duty '' is one of Activision Blizzard 's two `` significant investments ''