Call of Duty: Vanguard is a 2021 first-person shooter game created by Sledgehammer Games and released by Activision. It was made available on November 5 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. This game is the 18th in the Call of Duty series. It tells a story about the creation of special forces to fight a new danger near the end of World War II in different parts of the war.
Critics gave the game mixed reviews. They praised the fun of the single-player story, multiplayer mode, and the quality of the graphics. However, they criticized the writing, the Zombies mode, and the lack of new ideas. The game did not sell as well as Activision had hoped.
Gameplay
Vanguard's campaign includes gameplay features similar to those in Modern Warfare, such as the ability to place weapons on flat surfaces, interact with doors, and perform takedowns. New features allow players to use more advanced tactics in combat, like shooting from behind cover without seeing the enemy, breaking through breakable parts of the environment, or climbing walls to create new paths for completing objectives.
Vanguard's multiplayer mode introduces a new game called "Champion Hill," which follows the "Gunfight" mode from previous games. "Champion Hill" is a 2v2 arena where players compete in a team-based deathmatch tournament. Season 2 adds "Arms Race," a large-scale mode where two teams of 12 players try to capture or destroy five bases. Players earn money for kills and completing objectives to buy custom equipment and special abilities. A new feature called "Combat Pacing" lets players choose multiplayer modes based on three different playstyles. Vanguard also adds a "Caliber system" to the Gunsmith, which increases map destructibility and makes environments react differently based on weapon types.
Like Cold War, Vanguard connects with Warzone, allowing players to use weapons, characters, and cosmetic items across both games, along with items from Modern Warfare and Cold War. Vanguard's multiplayer supports cross-platform play, meaning players on different consoles can play together, including eighth and ninth-generation systems.
The cooperative Zombies mode returns in Vanguard, created by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. It continues the Dark Aether story and sets up events from Black Ops Cold War. At launch, the game includes a new map called "Der Anfang," which mixes survival gameplay with objective-based challenges from Cold War. Features like Essence and Salvage currencies, Dark Aether upgrades, and the Pack-a-Punch machine return. A new feature, the Altar of Covenants, lets players buy random boosts each round. Post-launch updates added story quests, new upgrades, and maps. In February 2022, a new map called "Terra Maledicta" was added. In 2022, classic maps were remade, including "Shi no Numa" from World at War and "The Archon," which was the last map released for the mode.
Plot
NOTE: The story of Vanguard is told in different time periods, not in order.
In August 1941, Australian Army demolitionist Private Lucas Riggs (Martin Copping) is stationed at Tobruk as part of the Rats of Tobruk garrison. After a failed ambush against an Afrika Korps convoy, the Rats are assigned to recover supplies for the British Army. They find intelligence about General Erwin Rommel and destroy an enemy depot, but are detained by British Major Henry Hamms (James Frain) for disobeying orders. In October 1942, during the Second Battle of El Alamein, the Rats are ordered by Hamms to form a defensive line. Riggs disobeys and tries to retake a hill with fellow Rat Private Desmond "Des" Wilmont (Nikolai Nikolaeff), who supports him. They succeed, but Des is killed in action. Angered by the Rats' ignored contributions, Riggs punches Hamms, leading to his imprisonment.
In June 1942, U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Wade Jackson (Derek Phillips) and his tail gunner, Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Mateo Hernandez (Christopher Rivas), participate in the Battle of Midway. They destroy two Japanese aircraft carriers in their Douglas SBD Dauntless. In November 1943, during the Bougainville campaign, Jackson and Hernandez are shot down and captured by Japanese soldiers. They are rescued by the 93rd Infantry Division, who later help them acquire an Aichi D3A to assist in reclaiming the island.
In August 1942, Red Army nurse Private Polina Petrova (Laura Bailey) witnesses the Wehrmacht invade Stalingrad. She fails to save her father, Boris, from Nazi execution but escapes with her brother, Misha (Mark Ivanir), and Soviet partisans. Petrova earns the nickname "Lady Nightingale" for her sniping skills as she pursues German commander Leo Steiner (Ray Proscia). In January 1943, Petrova and Misha attempt to assassinate Steiner, but Misha is severely wounded and sacrifices himself to let Petrova escape. Petrova later kills Steiner and his guards, inspiring Stalingrad's citizens to reclaim the city. She then targets Steiner's superior, Hermann Freisinger (Dan Donohue), an SS officer.
In June 1944, British Army paratrooper Sergeant Arthur Kingsley (Chiké Okonkwo) takes part in Operation Tonga, where he and the Parachute Regiment destroy the Merville Gun Battery and bridges to aid the Allied Normandy invasion. Kingsley befriends fellow paratrooper Sergeant Richard Webb (Simon Quarterman), who becomes his right-hand man.
Kingsley, Webb, Petrova, Jackson, and Riggs, along with Yugoslav partisan Milos Novak, are recruited by SOE Captain Carver Butcher (Ron Bottitta) to form the first special operations task force, called Vanguard, with Kingsley as leader. In April 1945, Vanguard hijacks a train to Hamburg to find intelligence about Project Phoenix, a secret Nazi program led by Freisinger. While infiltrating a Nazi submarine, the squad—minus Jackson, who was hidden—is captured by German soldiers, and Novak is killed by Freisinger. Vanguard is taken to Gestapo headquarters in Berlin, where Freisinger assigns his underling, Jannick Richter (Dominic Monaghan), to interrogate them. Jackson is later captured after stealing a plane at Berlin Tempelhof Airport; Richter executes Webb to demoralize the team.
Unaware of Project Phoenix’s purpose, Richter interrogates Petrova and Riggs about Freisinger’s connection to Steiner and Rommel. He learns the project was a coup to make Freisinger the new Führer of the Fourth Reich. As Berlin falls under siege after Hitler’s suicide, Riggs escapes interrogation and frees the squad, while Kingsley kills Richter to avenge Webb. Vanguard pursues Freisinger to Tempelhof, where they capture and burn him alive. The four board Freisinger’s plane, discovering documents about Nazi covert operations worldwide. Kingsley decides to investigate Project Aggregat, a secret V2 rocket facility, and orders Jackson to fly there.
In December 1944, Captain Butcher oversees Operation Vulcan, a top-secret mission to hunt Axis soldiers and scientists in the South Pacific. Butcher deploys with Task Force Trident to Caldera Island but is stranded after their plane is shot down. He finds a Nazi bunker at the crash site and recovers intel about a new chemical weapon, "Nebula V." Butcher travels to the Swiss Alps with Task Force Yeti to recover Nebula V from a Nazi fortress. The Yeti members storm the fortress but fail to stop the release of Nebula V gas, escaping as the fortress is engulfed.
The Nazis deploy Nebula V globally, affecting cities like Paris, London, and Caldera. In March 1951, Butcher sends Task Force Harpy to Caldera to intercept a Nazi arms convoy, where they find a radio emitting a mysterious sound. Butcher notes the release of Nebula V has awakened something powerful near Caldera. The island later becomes a battleground between the kaiju Godzilla and the gorilla Kong.
Over time, Butcher’s operators take mercenary jobs to find Nazi gold and wealth. In 1976, Butcher leads Task Force Immortal to investigate a helicopter crash site but faces hostility from Kingsley, who has formed his own mercenary team. Later, villains Raul Menendez (Kamar de los Reyes), Khaled Al-Asad (Michael Benyaer), He "Seraph" Zhen-Zhen (Judy Alice Lee), and Gabriel Rorke (Kevin Gage) appear explosively on Caldera.
Development
Vanguard is the third game created by Sledgehammer Games for the Call of Duty series. It follows 2014's Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and 2017's Call of Duty: WWII.
After WWII was released, the studio reorganized its structure due to the departure of co-founders and directors Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey. In an interview with VentureBeat, Studio Head Aaron Halon explained, "We love our legacy and what we’ve created, but we also wanted to think about the future of the studio and how we could set ourselves up to be even stronger. […] we're proud of the decisions we’ve made along the way that have led us to where we're at today with Call of Duty: Vanguard."
Before 2020, a three-year rotation system allowed Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games to take turns leading Call of Duty projects. This system began in 2012, and Sledgehammer was expected to lead a new game in 2020 with help from Raven Software. However, conflicts between the two companies caused responsibilities to shift to Treyarch, which developed Black Ops Cold War instead.
During Activision’s Q1 earnings call in May 2021, it was announced that Sledgehammer Games would lead the development of a new Call of Duty game, set for release in Q4 2021. This was also confirmed on Sledgehammer’s official Twitter account. Activision Blizzard President and Chief Operating Officer Daniel Alegre stated, "We are very excited for this year's premium Call of Duty release. Development is being led by Sledgehammer Games. And the game is looking great and on track for its fall release. This is a built-for-next-generation experience with stunning visuals across campaign, multiplayer, and cooperative modes of play designed to both integrate with and enhance the existing COD [Call of Duty] ecosystem. We look forward to sharing more details with the community soon."
Vanguard uses an improved version of the IW 8.0 engine, which powered Modern Warfare. The game’s visuals include photogrammetry and new volumetric lighting techniques. It also features reactive and destructible environmental details and textures with a damage layer system that responds to bullet impacts on different surfaces.
Marketing and release
In August 2021, some insider sources shared information about the game Vanguard before its official announcement, including details about its editions and a trailer. Call of Duty’s official social media accounts responded to the leak in a humorous way and shared hints about the game. Around the same time, a teaser for Vanguard appeared in Call of Duty: Warzone. During the extraction scene of Battle Royale matches, players who won could be sniped by Vanguard’s character, Polina Petrova. A week later, the game’s title was announced, and a reveal event took place in Warzone. Players participated in a limited-time mode called “The Battle of Verdansk,” where teams worked together to stop a train and escape as planes dropped bombs. The reveal trailer was shown at the end of the event and later posted online.
On August 25, during Gamescom, Sledgehammer Games showed a longer gameplay clip of Vanguard’s campaign mission called “Stalingrad Summer.” This mission focuses on the 1942 invasion of Stalingrad from the perspective of Petrova, who is voiced by Laura Bailey. She tries to return home after an attack while fighting German soldiers.
On September 7, Sledgehammer Games held a 30-minute YouTube broadcast. Team members, including creative director Greg Reisdorf, lead designer Zach Hodson, and associate art director Matt Abbott, shared details about Vanguard’s multiplayer features. They discussed tactical gameplay, competitive modes, and new environmental destruction mechanics.
After Vanguard’s announcement, viewers noticed that Activision was not prominently mentioned in the reveal trailer. Instead of “Activision presents,” the trailer used “Call of Duty presents,” and Activision’s name only appeared in small print for copyright reasons. Some publications said this change was an attempt to distance Activision from Vanguard due to a California lawsuit involving sexual harassment claims. Activision responded by stating the change was a creative choice to reflect Vanguard’s role in the franchise.
An open beta version of Vanguard’s multiplayer was released in September 2021. It included five maps and modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Search and Destroy, along with new modes like Patrol and Champion Hill. Players who reached Level 20 in the beta received a weapon blueprint usable in Vanguard and Warzone.
A tie-in comic series for Vanguard was announced on October 10, 2021, at New York Comic Con. Attendees received a free copy of the first comic, which featured Polina Petrova. On November 4, 2021, Activision made the comic series available for free on its website, with the first issue released the same day.
Vanguard was released worldwide on November 5, 2021. Pre-orders included early access to the multiplayer beta, cosmetic weapon packs, and in-game characters. The Ultimate Edition added extra cosmetic items, a Battle Pass, and double XP tokens. The Cross-gen Bundle and Ultimate Edition allowed console players to use the game on both older and newer consoles.
Like Modern Warfare and Cold War, Vanguard offered free post-launch content, such as new maps, game modes, and events, while earning money through battle passes and cosmetic bundles.
In January 2022, Activision announced a collaboration with the anime series Attack on Titan to celebrate its final season. A themed cosmetic bundle was released on January 20, 2022, featuring weapon blueprints and a skin for operator Daniel Yatsu based on the character Levi Ackerman. On February 22, 2022, a bundle for operator Roland Zeimet was released, inspired by Reiner Braun’s Armored Titan.
In March 2022, Activision shared a teaser for an April update adding Snoop Dogg as a playable character. This was the second collaboration between Snoop Dogg and Call of Duty, following his 2014 role as a multiplayer announcer in Call of Duty: Ghosts. The “Snoop Dogg Operator Bundle” was released on April 19, 2022.
In April 2022, Activision released a story cinematic for Season 3, hinting at a collaboration with Legendary Entertainment’s MonsterVerse franchise. The partnership, announced on April 21, 2022, included in-game events, map changes, and cosmetic items inspired by Godzilla, Kong, and Mechagodzilla.
In June 2022, Activision announced a collaboration with the Terminator franchise for Season 4. Two new cosmetic bundles were added, featuring T-800 and T-1000 characters from Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
In August 2022, Activision announced a collaboration with The Umbrella Academy comic series for Season 5. Themed cosmetic bundles were released for operators Lewis Howard and Wade Jackson, based on the characters Hazel and Cha-Cha.
Reception
Call of Duty: Vanguard received "mixed or average reviews" according to Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. IGN's Simon Cardy gave the game a 7 out of 10, saying the campaign was well-made and fun but criticized its short length and lack of variety. Clement Goh of CGMagazine also gave the game a 7 out of 10, noting that while the campaign and multiplayer were enjoyable, the Zombies mode was less interesting.
Yussef Cole of Polygon criticized how the game showed World War II, saying it included only a small amount of diversity and used some characters in a way that felt forced. He said the game ignored real issues with Western actions during the war and added Black and brown characters without fully addressing the history. John Walker of Kotaku said the game tried to include more diverse characters but failed to accurately represent their experiences. He also said the game gave players fewer choices than the 2003 version of Call of Duty, even though the graphics were very good.
The Zombies mode in Vanguard was not well-received. IGN's Luke Winkie gave it a 5 out of 10, saying it lacked creativity. Richard Warren of GameRant said the mode had few new features, such as missing special weapons and hidden items, which made it less unique.
After the game was released, players found pages from the Quran (a holy book for Muslims) in the Zombies map "Der Anfang," some of which had bloodstains. Activision removed the pages and apologized, saying the content was not meant to be included.
In November 2021, Vanguard was the top-selling game in the United States and the United Kingdom. However, sales in the United Kingdom were 40% lower than those of Black Ops Cold War. Vanguard was the best-selling game of 2021 in the United States. Activision later said the game did not meet sales goals because of its World War II setting and lack of new ideas.
In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version of Vanguard sold 28,321 copies in its first week, making it the 14th best-selling retail game of the week. The PlayStation 5 version sold 12,754 copies in the same week, making it the 5th best-selling retail game of the week.