MeinMMO author Maik Schneider has been keeping an eye on Call of Duty for years and has witnessed some ups and downs of the series. He believes that the new CoD: Vanguard has the potential to become a milestone for the franchise and is looking forward to the title, especially because of the setting.
As soon as the first rumors and leaks about the new Call of Duty: Vanguard appeared on my radar and showed the Second World War as the setting, I knew: This will cause trouble; many won’t like it. “Outdated,” “stale,” “boring” – that’s what some parts of the community sounded like after the first unofficial information.
Call of Duty was created as a World War shooter and has tried different settings over the years, even going far into the future. It hasn’t always been well received, and a game as big as CoD can’t please every player. However, I never thought of using the setting as the major factor for evaluating the next CoD title.
CoD Vanguard back in World War II – Awesome
In the case of Call of Duty: Vanguard, I have it easy. The setting is for me the juicy cherry on a tasty CoD cake. I’m into the historical flair that gives even the smallest symbols and the most remote places a deep meaning. World War shooters always create the strongest type of immersion for me. The feeling of being able to put myself in that situation and fully immerse myself in the game and feel the “flow”.
That’s why Battlefield 5 has been one of my shooter highlights in recent years, and that’s why I really wanted CoD: WWII to be good, the CoD from 2017. Both titles disappointed – BF5, because it didn’t grow properly over time; WWII, because the initial technical problems ruined my hype … that damn headquarters.
With Vanguard, I finally get one of my favorite settings served in CoD again, which I simply feel. But I must also say that the setting holds little appeal for me in CoD. It’s the little extra. What makes the next CoD really good for me. However, the setting was never a purchase reason for me.
There are also games that convince me because of the setting. As an example, I would like to mention the survival game “Grounded”, which leaves you as a mini-person in the garden. But in a CoD? No, not really…
However, I have always looked at the campaign – back then, you could still invite a buddy with a disc.
For MeinMMO, I have been following the franchise since late 2019 and have been dealing with the popular shooter series every day since then. And my feeling tells me – Vanguard is going to hit hard.
CoD is in the spotlight due to strong results
Much more important than the setting, I find the things that happen around CoD. Gameplay, planned content, the co-op mode – I think that is far more important, and here Vanguard could shine and even overshadow everything that has come before.
Because the new Vanguard could become huge, it already has 16 maps in the 6v6 mode at launch (the predecessor Cold War has only 8). Activision has many studios that solely work on CoD or at least contribute. The success of the battle royale Warzone also plays a part. Call of Duty has managed to remain relevant all year round with Warzone, instead of just a few weeks or at most months after the release of the annual premium title.
Thus, the shooter franchise announced 100 million registered players for Warzone and over 400 million copies sold across all premium titles by the end of April (via callofduty.com). The combined premium titles are almost reaching the value of the best-selling video game of all time – Tetris with nearly 500 million copies sold. After that comes Minecraft with around 200 million and GTA 5 with around 150 million (as of August 3rd – via GamePro.de).
The upward trend also applies to the hard economic numbers. In the report for the second billing quarter of Activision-Blizzard, it was stated that the introduction of the free-to-play experiences Warzone and CoD: Mobile greatly increased player reach and investment beyond previous levels.
Activision also states that in the second billing quarter of 2020, they recorded significantly more sales of the current premium title – at a time when the current CoD was previously hardly relevant anymore. In-game sales were also four times higher compared to the year before Warzone – 2019 – (via investor.activision.com).
Vanguard could be huge and fantastic
But why is this important for Vanguard? Well, since the releases of CoD MW and CoD Mobile in 2019 and Warzone in early 2020, the franchise has practically exploded. With Black Ops 4 from 2018, CoD was still considered a problem franchise, likely to have its best days behind it. But with the three mentioned titles, the turnaround occurred, and Call of Duty launched into the stratosphere. The studios have hired many new employees, many Activision studios are working on Call of Duty, and the feeling is spreading that publisher Activision wants to fully exploit the potential now.
Thus, Vanguard, Warzone, and all fans of the franchise could be facing a phase with an unprecedented amount of content. Warzone has shown in its first year that even little content is enough to make many players happy. Cold War also launched with little content but could also meet economic goals. Both titles were played a lot despite the lack of content and saw high sales in in-game items.
Given the financial circumstances and my daily work with the CoD series, I think Activision is at a point where they are asking themselves: “What can CoD do for us if we actually bring as much content as players want?” And right now, Vanguard is coming.
- The new CoD comes with as many 6v6 maps at launch as no CoD has had in 10 years
- The zombie specialists from Treyarch are leading the development of the zombie co-op mode
- Warzone already has a much faster pace than in its first year and could offer even more
For me personally, it also comes down to the fact that Vanguard is based on gameplay from Modern Warfare from 2019, which I enjoyed a lot. Plus the setting, which adds the crown to the good prospects for the new CoD.
But even for players who do not consider themselves fans of CoD MW or celebrate the World War setting – if Call of Duty is your thing, you should keep a close eye on Vanguard. I truly believe something big is coming our way.
But I also enjoy hearing your opinions in the comments on MeinMMO.
