'Call of Duty' 2017 release date rumors: Sledgehammer Games teases Vietnam setting for next installment?

Activision's "Call of Duty" video game franchise will see a new installment from developer Sledgehammer Games this 2017. Since its release isn't expected until later in the year, it is understandable that details for the upcoming title are still quite scarce. However, it seems that someone from the game developer may have revealed a very important detail for the upcoming game — its setting.

Back in December, Michael Condrey, chief operating and development officer of Sledgehammer, revealed the company's runner-up for their Christmas card on Twitter. The post featured a "Call of Duty" overlay image on top of an old M1911A Colt .45 pistol.

According to TweakTown, this particular weapon was widely used by the U.S. Army during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. While this information is seemingly innocuous, it is important to note that Sledgehammer previously worked on a third-person shooter set in the Vietnam War called "Call of Duty: Fog of War." The video game was ultimately canceled and the developer was called on to help Infinity Ward with the development of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3."

This recent tease from Condrey has led most "Call of Duty" fans to assume that the next installment in the franchise could possibly be set in Vietnam. While most "Call of Duty" titles have featured futuristic settings, the success of Electronic Arts' new first-person shooter "Battlefield 1," which is set in World War I, could prove to be an emerging trend in video games. The return to pre-modern warfare could also help alleviate the less than stellar sales of "Call of Duty" these last few years.

Sledgehammer's upcoming title follows "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" released by Infinity Ward in 2016 and "Call of Duty" Black Ops III" launched by Treyarch back in 2015. Activision is known for following a three-year development cycle for the "Call of Duty" franchise involving these three game developers. To recall, Sledgehammer's previous "Call of Duty" title, "Advanced Warfare" was released in 2014.

More details for the next "Call of Duty" installment will be released in the months and weeks leading up to its release. Like previous titles, it is expected to arrive sometime in November.