Publisher Activision Blizzard has confirmed that ‘Call of Duty’ has been dropped from the title of Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2, suggesting that the series has now definitively been split in two.

Since its move onto next-gen consoles, the Call of Duty brand has effectively been operating as two separate entities, with original developer Infinity Ward handling Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Treyarch handling Call of Duty 3 and last year’s Call of Duty: World at War.

The official dropping of the COD branding from this year’s shooter suggests that Infinity Ward are now the bastions of the new, independent Modern Warfare brand, and Treyarch now the developers of Call of Duty proper.

Adding that the series is now the best-selling FPS of all time, with over 12m units sold worldwide, Infinity Ward CEO Vince Zampella stated: “Everyone on the team is laser focused on making the most gripping experience we’ve ever created.

“No detail is too small and every finishing touch imaginable is underway to make Modern Warfare 2 our best ever. We can’t wait for our fans around the world to play starting November 10th.”