The video game publisher tweeted, "While we all look forward to playing the new seasons of 'Modern Warfare,' 'Warzone' and 'Call of Duty: Mobile,' now is not the time."
In the wake of nationwide unrest following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed man who died while in police custody in Minnesota, Activision has postponed new seasons of its first-person shooter franchise, Call of Duty.
The Santa Monica-based video game publisher tweeted the update on Monday evening ahead of Blackout Tuesday, a daylong "social media blackout" in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Like many other tweets on the platform, Activision's message was posted against a black background.
"While we all look forward to playing the new seasons of Modern Warfare, Warzone and Call of Duty: Mobile, now is not the time," the company wrote via the official Twitter account for the game. "We are moving the launches of Modern Warfare Season 4 and Call of Duty: Mobile Season 7 to a later date."
The post continued, "Right now it's time for those speaking up for equality, justice and change to be seen and heard. We stand alongside you."
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Mobile were set to welcome new seasons this week, and no alternative dates were given by the company. In correspondence with The Hollywood Reporter, Activision declined to provide specific details of their plans.
Among the other video game companies delaying projects and releases, Sony rescheduled its PlayStation 5 reveal event, which was originally set to take place June 4.
"While we understand gamers worldwide are excited to see PS5 games, we do not feel that right now is a time for celebration and for now, we want to stand back and allow more important voices to be heard," its statement read on Monday. Likewise, no new date has been communicated.
Elsewhere, EA Sports on Sunday delayed its Madden NFL announcement, writing on Twitter, "We stand with our African American / Black community of friends, players, colleagues and partners. Our immediate attention is on actions we can take to drive change against the unjust treatment and systematic bias that is plaguing the nation and the world. We'll find another time to talk football with you. Because this is bigger than a game, bigger than sports, and needs all of us to stand together and commit to change."
Various hashtags supporting Blackout Tuesday emerged on Twitter including #TheShowMustBePaused, with many media companies, individuals and businesses choosing not to participate in the normal work cycle.
