After several months of reporting and investigation into the development ofCall of Duty: Vanguard, new details have surfaced indicating that the game will release in somewhat of a decent state.
It’s been a few months since Ifirst tweetedthat Call of Duty: Vanguard’s development was a “f**king disaster”, with my comments coming directly off the back of seeing some earlyVanguardgameplay and speaking to a source who’s been familiar withVanguard’sdevelopment. As many people with video game development knowledge know, it’s often the last few months where a game really comes together, with bugs and glitches being hammered out ready for the game’s release.
I’ve seen early footage of many differentCall of Dutytitles over the years, in many different states of development, but the most notable would be early footage ofAdvanced Warfarein March of 2014; eight months prior to its release. Although both games are seven years apart, I wanted to make the comparison because I’ve seen both games at the same stage of development and to put it simply, Vanguard appeared to be significantly worse.
Vanguard Changed Direction
Despite early rumors ofVanguard’sdevelopment being in a difficult state, according to sources, there was a huge catalyst that changed the tide - Leaks.
On June 19, 2025,Modern Warzone reportedthat this year’s Call of Duty title will be dubbed “Call of Duty WWII: Vanguard” and will have a setting in which the war didn’t end. These rumors were quickly corroborated byEurogamer, who stated that the information is accurate, but the game will be set in a traditional World War II setting.
The leaks and rumors sent the Call of Duty community into an uproar, with many fans finding it difficult to understand why the developers thought a World War II setting was wise. It was at this point that things changed for the better, with Sledgehammer Games reportedly stepping up development to give fans the best World War II title they could deliver under the pandemic. Remember, it was at this time that Sledgehammer Games were hiring staff left, right and centre, all whilst developing their next title under COVID-19 restrictions.
Recent talks around with those familiar withVanguardhave been positive, with the understanding that the game has seen an impressive ramp-up in development these past several months. Despite the positivity though, the game is likely not going to be the “golden” Call of Duty title that fans want.
Call of Duty Vanguard on Day 1
With just a couple of months untilVanguardmakes its debut, it’s still difficult to know how the game will be received on release. Of course, the game is going to have a bit of negative backlash due to its World War II setting, but it would seem like bugs and issues have been squashed and resolved in recent months.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a good nor a badCall of Dutytitle. After speaking to one source associated withVanguardin some capacity, who wished to stay anonymous, the game was quoted as “Not Great, Not Terrible”. That line is of course from the award-winning HBO Chernobyl series and by all accounts so far, it does seem like the game is just going to be anotherCall of Dutytitle, but with more multiplayer maps.
Old reports stated the game will bereleasing with around eight 6v6 multiplayer maps, but fortunately, that is no longer the case. Vanguard will reportedly launch with 20 multiplayer maps, 16 of which being 6v6.
It’s been hard to not give my own opinions onVanguardand its development, but I’ve been very vocal that I’m not particularly interested in a WW2 title and I think that a lot of people feel the same. No matter how goodCall of Duty: Vanguardis though, there’s always going to be one big dark cloud over multiplayer… Skill-based Matchmaking.
Vanguard SBMM Is The Same As Black Ops Cold War
Vanguard will have Skill-based Matchmaking and unfortunately, it appears that it will be identical to that ofBlack Ops Cold War’s.
Regardless of the matchmaking system seemingly getting worse and worse every time a new Call of Duty is released,Vanguardwill be no different. Believe it or not, Activision feels like the system has been perfected enough that it doesn’t really need to be tweaked.
Year after year Activision continues to make in-game sales records and despite the influence that Warzone has had on both in-game and premium sales, Activision feels like the current system to incentivize purchases is ideal. So no, sorry, but SBMM will not be removed inCall of Duty: Vanguard.
Where I Stand on Vanguard
Personally, I’m not super excited aboutVanguard. Recent tweets and leaks over onmy Twitterhave come directly from a press briefing to media and content creators, which are all positive, and for obvious reasons.
I do think thatVanguardis shaping up to be a decentCall of Dutytitle, but unfortunately, I’m not that interested in a World War 2 title that I know will have its issues and a harsh skill-based matchmaking system. Put those issues together and pair it up with the competition that the game faces this year, I think I will have more fun of a time playing the likes ofBattlefield 2042andHalo Infinite.
I’ll still be buyingVanguardon November 5th and in my opinion, the game is still going to be the best selling game out of the bunch, but for playability and for fun, I’ll probably be rocking a few different games this year.Call of Duty: Vanguardis set to release on November 5th on the Xbox One X/S, PS5, PS4 and PC.
