Bottom line: Warzone hosted its second in-game event yesterday, where Activision revealed the latest CoD installment to the world. Call of Duty: Vanguard takes players back to the battlefields of WWII, featuring a single-player campaign across four major fronts of the war, a Battle Pass-driven multiplayer with 20 maps at launch, a new Zombies mode, and integration with the free-to-play Warzone mode that will (finally) receive an all-new map to replace Verdansk, alongside an anti-cheat system for PC.
There's probably less room for surprises given that this year's Call of Duty is yet again taking players to a WWII setting. However, fans of this long-running franchise are expected to dive in anyway, propelling it to the top charts following the game's November 5 release date.
Development of 2021's Call of Duty: Vanguard is being led by Sledgehammer Games, the studio which Activision briefly demoted to support role for assisting Treyarch's BlackOps series. Like the latter's Cold War entry last year, Vanguard's reveal took place in the Battle of Verdansk in-game event in Warzone.
The game's single-player campaign will see players take on the roles of British, Russian and US soldiers, forming operatives of Task Force One and fighting across WWII's major theatres.
Although it remains to be seen if the story is as engaging as 2019's Modern Warfare, the visuals are expected to be at least on par (or better), given that Vanguard is using an upgraded version of the IW 8.0 engine.
The game's multiplayer will offer 20 maps at launch, alongside advanced versions of Gunsmith and Caliber systems as well as a variation of MW's Gunfight mode called Champion Hill. This tournament-style experience pits eight teams (solos, duos or trios) across four maps to be the last ones standing. For Zombie slayers, Vanguard will feature a new Zombies co-op experience developed by Treyarch.
Call of Duty's Warzone experience is also evolving with the upcoming title and is set to get an all-new map and a much-needed anti-cheat system sometime later this year. It'll integrate weapons and content from Vanguard so players can expect WWII-inspired locations and themes. With Vanguard now up for pre-order, there are now four games listed in Call of Duty's main menu.
Vanguard is launching on November 5 for PC, last and current-gen PlayStation/Xbox consoles, and is a cross-gen title. Interestingly, the Microsoft Store listing for the game reveals the $60 standard version at 75GB, while its $100 Ultimate edition comes in at a gargantuan 270GB!