There have been plenty of rumors leading up to the announcement of the next game in the Call of Duty franchise. Most of those rumors surrounded the idea of the franchise going back to World War II and a series of leaks recently appeared to have confirmed that would be the direction the game was going in. Shortly after, a teaser had been added to the victory screen of Call of Duty: Warzone where the player attempting to escape on a helicopter would be shot and killed by an opposing sniper. The sniper was dressed in World War II style clothing.
After the leaks and the teasers, the new Call of Duty was officially unveiled on Monday with a cinematic trailer. The trailer pans through battlegrounds, destroyed buildings, and bombed beaches with each location ending on a face that was formed during the battle. These faces appear to represent the characters who will be starring in the game’s campaign mode. The trailer ends with a wide shot of all four main characters in a still picture together charging into battle.
It’s interesting to see the franchise returning back to World War II once again. They did so once before with Call of Duty: WWII and obviously the roots of the franchise are built on being a World War II shooter franchise. Of course, once Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare came out it didn’t take long for the games to shift to a more modern setting. However, with the most recent game being set during the Cold War there seems to be a desire to once again go back in time and explore stories from that time period.
Players who want to get an early look at Call of Duty: Vanguard will be able to in a special event during Call of Duty: Warzone on August 19. With Warzone being a free-to-play battle royale it is not uncommon for COD publishers Activision Blizzard (which it must be noted are currently facing a lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing for creating a “frat boy culture” and abusive work environment) to utilize it as a way to advertise their upcoming mainline game. They did something similar when Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War came out by introducing new guns and adding special events such as zombies on the map.
More details on Vanguard will be arriving in the coming weeks, and fans of the franchise can get a taste of the upcoming new game later this week.