Since its introduction in 2019’sCall of Duty: Modern Warfare, players have been flocking toWarzoneto test themselves inCall of Duty’s take on battle royale. Verdansk has been the battleground for players, whether it was the more modern setting from its first year or the city as it was in 1984 as part of the Soviet Union. This is going to change, as players will be jumping into World War 2 Pacific and Sledgehammer Games has given players a tease of what’s to come inCall of Duty: Vanguard.
Call of Duty: Vanguardis 2021’s entry into the long-running series, the third from Sledgehammer Games, and the second from the studio set in World War 2. The campaign follows a multinational unit, dubbed Task Force One, as they try to uncover the truth about a hidden Nazi plan called Project Phoenix in the dying days of World War 2. Multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone are also available as part of the game, with the latter of the three trading the Cold War for World War 2.
RELATED:Call of Duty: Vanguard Explains Its Gunsmith, Weapon Loadout Features
Sledgehammer gave players a tease as to why they are heading to the Pacific Theater in the cinematic intro forVanguard’s iteration ofWarzone. The intro seesBlack Ops Cold War’s Adler, Woods, Mason, and Hudson discovering a Nazi bunker hidden in Verdansk’s underbelly, along with the returning Captain Carver Butcher fromCall of Duty WW2. He reveals he was the mastermind behindVanguard’s team and their “work” saw them head to thePacific island of Calderaafter the war to find the Nazis who fled Germany before Berlin fell.
Despite the emphasis on multiplayer,Call of Duty’s developer has provided players a narrative hook as to why they were fighting in Verdansk. In both cases,Warzone’s narrative continued from whereModern WarfareandCold War’s campaigns left off and found ways to involve the key characters from the respective campaigns. It’s also given the series' developers a way to have loose narrative threads both season-to-season and even game-to-game since 2019’sModern Warfare.
It appears this will be the same going intoCall of Duty: Vanguardwhen players drop into the island of Caldera on December 3. The cinematic suggestsProject Phoenixis somewhat successful if Butcher teases the Nazi presence there was the driving reason behind attacking the island. The question now becomes whereWarzoneheads over the next year and how, ultimately, it will link into this larger, interconnectedCall of Dutythru-line.
Call of Duty: Vanguardwill be available May 31, 2025, on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
