'Call of Duty: Vanguard' Returns the Franchise to Its WWII Roots

To say that the FPS shooter release schedule for 2021 is stacked would be an understatement. Ubisoft is dropping Far Cry 6 on October 7, EA is launching Battlefield 2042 0n October 22, and Xbox Game Studios is preparing to release Halo Infinite sometime later this year as well. Activision is set to join the fall FPS onslaught by releasing Call of Duty: Vanguard on November 5 for the following platforms - PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.

There are three separate editions of Vanguard, which are the Standard Edition, Cross-Gen Bundle, and Ultimate Edition. The Standard Edition comes with either the PS4 or Xbox One version of the game and allows for backward compatibility on either the PS5 or Xbox Series X|S. That same edition comes with the Night Raid Mastercraft Weapon Blueprint and Frontline Weapons Pack. The Cross-Gen Bundle includes those aforementioned goodies, the last- and current-gen versions of the game, and five hours of Weapon 2XP. And finally, the Ultimate Edition comes with everything the Cross-Gen Bundle features plus five hours of Player 2XP, the Task Force One Pack (which comes with three Operator Skins and three Weapon Blueprints with Tracer Rounds), and access to the Battle Pass Bundle.

Developer Sledgehammer Games are the main architects behind Call of Duty: Vanguard. On the campaign front, this series entry will explore the origins of a group of Special Forces soldiers known as Task Force One. The mission at the heart of their crusade is known as “Project Phoenix,” which is a fictional operation that sets up the last remnants of the Nazi party as they look to find a successor to their failed leader after the fall of Berlin. Players will see the events of this dangerous campaign through the eyes of four soldiers who fight on their own war fronts.

IGN detailed the backstories of those four soldiers, which you can read about below:

- Sgt. Arthur Kingsley (Western Front) is a member of the 9th Parachute Battalion in the British army. His character is based on Sidney Cornell, a paratrooper who played a part in Operation Tonga. For Kingsley, Campaign Creative Director David Swenson explained he has to take charge and successfully help complete the operation in order to make a particular beach safe for D-Day the next morning. Kingsley is voiced by Chike Okonkwo and written by Tochi Onyebuchi.

- Lt. Polina Petrova (Eastern Front) is a member of the Soviet Union's 138th Rifle Division inspired by Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a sniper nicknamed Lady Death. Petrova's story starts in her home of Stalingrad where she worked as a nurse and eventually becomes an ace sniper when her home is invaded by the Germans.

- Cpt. Wade Jackson (Pacific Front) is a pilot of Scouting Squadron Six of the United States Navy. Inspired by the actions of Vernon "Mike" Micheel, Jackson fights in the Pacific Battle of Midway before being shot down over the Solomon Islands and must adapt to fighting on the ground with a team.

- 2nd lt. Lucas Riggs (North Africa) is an Australian infantryman in the 20th Battalion. He's inspired by Charles Upham and the Rats of Tobruk. Riggs fights as one of these Rats of Tobruk in North Africa to take out opposing forces there.

The online competitive multiplayer suite for Call of Duty: Vanguard will be as substantial as past entries’ suites. 20 maps will be available at launch and will be set across the four aforementioned fronts featured in the campaign. 16 of those maps will focus on 6v6 combat, while four of them will primarily deal in 2v2 skirmishes. A new mode will make its debut here and it’s called "Champion Hill." Champion Hill is described as an amalgamation of the best parts of your average battle royale mode and 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Gunfight mode. Players can participate in Champion Hill Mode solo, in a duo, or in a trio squad as they play across progressing rounds and four maps. Players will now earn the option of using Combat Pacing, which is a new search feature that customizes one's multiplayer experience.

The following three parameters can be used to change the online multiplayer player count and the experience as a whole:

- Tactical: Fewer players for slower gameplay

- Standard: 6v6 traditional player count

- Blitz: More players for chaotic, fast gameplay

Keep in mind that pre-order recipients will get early access to Vanguard’s open beta on PS4 and PS5 only. PS4 and PS5 owners can get in on the game's Alpha period, which will run from Friday, August 27th at 10 am PST/1 pm EST to Sunday, August 29th at 10 am PST/1 pm EST. The Alpha will focus on Vanguard's new Champion Hill multiplayer mode.

Development studio Treyarch (which developed 2020’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War) is back in the driver’s seat for the latest COD entry’s Zombies Mode. And what makes this incoming take on the long-running Zombies co-op mode is the fact that it’ll serve as a prequel to the story established in Black Ops Cold War.

Warzone, which is Call of Duty’s signature battle royale mode, has been a smashing success thus far. Raven Software will still handle the lead developer duties for Warzone but will make sure to feature elements from Vanguard in its ever-expanding mode. Once Vanguard launches, players can look forward to seeing all of its weapons and Operators added to Warzone.