Another one of the worst kept secrets was confirmed today by Activision with official word that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Infinity Ward is on the way, and it is scheduled for release on November 10th, just ahead of the holidays.

The released trailer does show one interesting thing of note, which is the fact that it does not use the Call of Duty branding. Some are already speculating that Activision might attempt to split the franchise and spin off the Call of Duty branding and build a new franchise under the Modern Warfare name. Of course, no one at Activision is commenting on this speculation and we suspect that this might be an effort to gauge reaction to the new title not carrying the Call of Duty branding ahead of making a final decision.

The new trailer does not show any in-game footage, but rather is more of a teaser to announce the title. The trailer reveals a hint of a terrorist attack on an airport, but beyond this, details are sketchy. Also absent from the trailer is an announcement of which platforms the title will be available for. However, our sources do seem to be in agreement that at least for the time being the target release platforms will be the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

The Call of Duty franchise has been a big success for Activision and the title has received many awards and much acclaim. The version of the game that has been developed by the series creator Infinity Ward seems to be favored by players over those developed by Treyarch. With a reported 14+ million players, the game has been an excellent cash cow for Activision.