Activision this week confirmed that the next Call of Duty title, Call of Duty: Vanguard, will return to the World War II settings of the original games. It will be available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S and will launch November 5, but those who preorder the game now will gain early access to a multiplayer beta.
“Prepare for WWII combat like never before,” Activision’s Daniel Noel announced. “Starting November 5, witness the origins of Special Forces as you play a pivotal role and change the face of history, forming Task Force One in a gripping campaign across four major theaters of war. Plus, experience 20 multiplayer maps at launch, a crossover Zombies experience, and full Warzone integration, including a new, massive map.”
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While many COD fans will likely be disappointed by the return to WWII yet again—I’ll have more on that topic soon—that quote above about 20 multiplayer maps at launch, the new Zombies experience, and an overdue new map for Warzone—should calm some nerves. It’s clear that Activision’s plan to release a new COD each year is straining at the seams, even with three different game studios pumping out new titles in rotation, and those additions are quite welcome to this jaded COD gamer.
COD: Vanguard will of course feature a single-player campaign—the rousing history of WWII practically sells itself—and it will star a retroactively diverse cast of Allied characters fighting their ways through some of the most iconic set pieces in the war, including the Midway Islands, Stalingrad, France, and North Africa.
But it will be multiplayer that sells COD: Vanguard, and it is here that those promises in the quote above should resonate the most strongly for COD veterans. 20 multiplayer maps is an incredible start and should obviate the complaints about the past several COD launches. The new Zombies mode was co-developed by Sledgehammer and Treyarch, a first, and serves as a precursor to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies. And the launch of a new Warzone map is both overdue and quite welcome, offering full integration with COD: Vanguard.
Activision is also promising “a colossal calendar brimming with free post-launch content” that will include new multiplayer and Zombies maps and modes, seasonal events, community celebrations, and more. And that should keep COD gamers happy until next fall, when I assume we’ll get the new Modern Warfare title that everyone really wants and we can all forget this ever happened.