After a live event within Warzone, we now have tonnes of new information about Call of Duty Vanguard, here’s everything we know. There will be three main modes this year: Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies, and, similarly to Black Ops Cold War, the game will integrate with Warzone.
A series of teasers last week helped to set up the event which took place today. Players had to work alongside 32 other players to take out an armoured train. Afterwards, loads of bomber planes flew overhead forcing you to try and escape. Then the full reveal trailer played, giving us our first look at the campaign, including the setting, characters and tone. Alongside this loads of details were shared about the various modes in more detail.
So here they all are, summarised, so you can fully understand everything we now know about the latest Call of Duty.
Campaign
If it’s not clear by now, yes, Call of Duty Vanguard will be set during the Second World War. The story will feature the origins of modern special forces groups. It features four unique multinational soldiers who rise above the ranks of ordinary soldiers to become something greater.
These four soldiers will form Task Force One – likely playing on the conventions of Task Force 141 of the Modern Warfare series. It consists of Sergeant Arthur Kingsley of Britain, Lieutenant Polina Petrova of the Soviet Union, Captain Wade Jackson of America, and Second Lieutenant Lucas Riggs from Australia. They will be fighting across the globe on the Western, Eastern, North African, and Pacific Fronts.
More information about the campaign will be revealed as soon as next week, so stay tuned for that.
The campaign seems to feature a variety of landscapes and characters.
Warzone
Once again, Raven Software’s Warzone will be fully integrated with the latest game and support will persist across Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War. That means that all of your loadouts, battle pass items, and purchased bundles will be carried forward.
The launch of Vanguard will also bring a new map to the experience – likely based on one or more of the WW2 Fronts. That’s not all, the launch will see the introduction of a brand new PC anti-cheat system. This is something that players have been clamouring for since certain PC players began using cheat software to gain an advantage and win games with zero skill. The issue has become worse recently with many players quitting the game entirely until the situation is sorted.
Multiplayer
Vanguard’s standard multiplayer mode is set to be the most expansive at launch as COD has ever been. First of all, there will be twenty maps at launch (sixteen 6v6 maps and four for the new Champion Hill mode). This is compared to the eleven that Cold War had when it came out. There is said to be a “wide variety of diverse environments” with “intense Call of Duty combat”.
Sledgehammer will build upon the strengths of their last WW2 COD game.
The new mode, Champion Hill, will be similar to the Gunfight mode of previous games but with eight teams who compete in a tournament-style competition until there’s one ultimate winner. It can be played 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3.
New Gameplay
There will now be new ways to play. First, this comes in the form of new gunsmith options where you can switch out the calibre of your weapons, greatly affecting how each gun handles. This confirms that the create-a-class system of the previous games will continue (likely to allow for Warzone consistency), so no ‘Pick 10’ system. There will also be three Combat Pacing settings: Standard, Blitz (as many players as possible to create a chaotic experience), and tactical (similar to hardcore, with fewer players and low health). The game will also reportedly feature destructible environments to an extent. Props and furniture can be destroyed with explosions, planks can be shot through to create new sightlines, and doors can be broken to access new areas.
Finally, an Open Beta had been announced which will take place in the coming months. Pre-ordering any version of the game will give you early access to the trial/ testing period and it will be available five days earlier on PlayStation consoles.
Of course, more info will be coming soon. Specifically, on Sunday (August 22nd) during the Call of Duty League Champs we can expect a ‘sneak peak’ and the chance to earn beta codes. Also, a dedicated multiplayer reveal will happen at some point soon.
Zombies
Lastly, we now know that the third mode will be Zombies, to the surprise of no one. Interestingly, it is being developed by Treyarch Studios, not Sledgehammer. It will act as a prologue to the Dark Aether storyline that we’ve been following in Cold War, obviously staying within the WW2 time frame. This is the first time that a cooperative Call of Duty mode has continued across titles. The mode will feature Treyarch’s signature gameplay style and story-telling devices in the form of Easter Egg main quests and lore-heavy locations and characters.
For Zombies, they said we can expect more details as we can closer to Halloween. Which makes sense as it’s often the mode which usually gets revealed last and which maintains a level of mystery going in.
We still know very little about the Zombies mode and how it will look on the Modern Warfare engine.
Other Details
Call of Duty Vanguard will release for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Battle.net) on November 5th 2021. It will allow for cross-play between platforms and generations and cross-progression for your account on any device. It also runs on the same engine as Modern Warfare 2019.
There will be regular free updates adding new modes, events, operators, and community celebrations. Plus, content releases will follow the seasons model that was used in many recent games, including battle passes to unlock content simply by playing.
The details for the different editions of Call of Duty Vanguard are as follows: Standard, $59.99 (last-generation), Cross-Gen, $69.99 (last and current-generation), and Ultimate, $99.99 (last and current-generation). All editions get access to a Night Raid PPSH Mastercraft blueprint and Kingsley as an operator in Cold War and Warzone, the Frontline weapons pack, and early beta access. The better versions include even more bonuses
