Call of Duty's newest game is already in development, and this time it will made with next-gen in mind consoles.

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg told IGN this news in the last week as it was also confirmed that Sledgehammer Games would be taking the lead on the next game.

"Obviously in the console-transition year, anyone who developed a cross-generational game last year had to deal with the fact that the technology of the next-gen platforms was still coming into focus and changing quite a bit during the development process," Hirshberg said. "Now that we have the next-gen hardware out in the marketplace and solid, that is our primary development."

Polygon reported the new game will still be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360. It is unclear whether next-gen means the Wii U as well.

"There are still a lot of people playing on current gen, and we want to deliver a great experience for them as well," Hirshberg said to IGN. "But it will be a next-gen-first production and the current-gen game will be a version of that."

Call of Duty is moving to a three year development cycle of games, bumping it up from the standard two year it has been running on. 

"[The change] will give our designers more time to envision and innovate for each title," Hirshberg said reported Polygon. "It will give our content creators more focus on DLC and micro-DLC which ... have become large and high-margin opportunities and significant engagement drivers. It will give our teams more time to polish, helping to ensure that we deliver the best possible experience to our fans each and every time."

He continued, "They've demonstrated their skill on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and on their past highly rated games. They're the perfect choice to support our new approach and bring fresh ideas and creativity to this great franchise and to raise the bar for next-gen games overall."

Call of Duty has become a billion dollar franchise due to the popularity of the game's in the franchise.