Prepare to be shocked. Expect the next “Call of Duty” sequel before the end of the year. I apologize if that news floored you, but I figured you could handle it since the game was first mentioned at an advertising event last December.

More from Activision Blizzard’s latest earnings call after the jump.

In addition to “Modern Warfare 2,” it was confirmed that a new James Bond game and an untitled racing game are in the works. The former won’t be released until next year, while the latter, which is being handled by “Project Gotham Racing” dev Bizarre Creations, was not tagged with a specific date.

As part of the ongoing effort to milk the franchise for all it is worth, CEO Mike Griffith revealed that his company is currently set to publish four “Guitar Hero” games. The Metallica-featured title will be available in North America in March, while a brand new iteration and “Guitar Hero Greatest Hits” will release sometime later this year. The latter will be a collection of songs that have previously appeared in console “Guitar Hero” games. According to Primotech, tunes from “World Tour,” which was released last fall, will not be part of the compilation. All of the songs will be updated to support mics and drums.  “Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits” will hit the DS before the end of 2009.

Activision Blizzard’s strategy for the future is quite simple. Make a ton of money off of established franchises like “Guitar Hero” and “Call of Duty;” then put some of that cash toward a couple new IPs. “Prototype,” an open-world action title acquired as part of the merger with Vivendi, will release in June for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. The aforementioned title seems quite similar to Sucker Punch’s “inFamous,” but I don’t know that much about Raven Software’s “first-person action game,” “Singularity.” The Bizarre-developed racing game is also a new IP.

I realize that I have railed against Activision Blizzard and CEO Bobby Kotick many times before, but it is clear that my ire was somewhat misplaced. Do not get me wrong, I still despise the company for openly exploiting certain franchises, but I believe that gamers deserve some of the blame. After all, if there wasn’t a demand for more “Guitar Hero” and “Call of Duty” games, then the company wouldn’t produce them. Plus, it seems that even Activision Blizzard lost money during its last fiscal quarter.

Sources: Eurogamer, Destructoid, Primotech, IGN, IGN, Joystiq, Joystiq

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