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Activision says Call of Duty Vanguard underperformed partly due to WW2 setting | VGC

It also thinks the game “didn’t deliver as much innovation” as past series entries…

www.videogameschronicle.com

While the game has been one of the industry’s best-selling titles since its November 2021 release, its performance has been relatively weak for a new entry in the annual blockbuster franchise, falling short of past releases including its predecessor Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Writing in its new annual report, Activision said Vanguard’s setting was poorly received by some players, and that a lack of innovation had also impacted sales.

“While Call of Duty remains one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time, our 2021 premium release didn’t meet our expectations, we believe primarily due to our own execution.

“The game’s World War II setting didn’t resonate with some of our community and we didn’t deliver as much innovation in the premium game as we would have liked.”

Activision went on to say it has high hopes for the next entry in the series, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

“We are certainly addressing both of these issues with the 2022 launch. Development on the 2022 premium and Warzone experiences is being led by Activision’s renowned Infinity Ward studio.

“We are working on the most ambitious plan in Call of Duty history, with over 3,000 people now working on the franchise and a return to the Modern Warfare setting that delivered our most successful Call of Duty title ever.”

 

[In Cold Blood]

No, it bombed because people want to have a realistic WW2 game. Quirky characters that are totally out of place with what really happened is an immersion turn off.

 

[ANIMAL1975]

WW2 is dead Jim. It's only appealing in the zombies mode.

 

[Craig of War]

Nobody cares about WW1 or WW2 setting they need to stop with that setting it a bored fest

 

[Jigsaah]

Facts. Stop doing it.

 

[Majormaxxx]

It underperformed due to a lack of diversity. Gamers want more progressive elements, more diversity, more equity and more inclusion.

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

This is exactly why I didn't buy it. Going back to WWII AGAIN after the highly enjoyable Cold War campaign felt like a step backwards.

 

[March Climber]

No, it bombed because people want to have a realistic WW2 game.

The majority casual audience doesn't care about any of this. They want to run around full speed and shoot their favorite modern automatic weapons in a better made zombies mode, along co-op campaign missions(which Vanguard doesn't have).

 

[realcool]

It underperformed due to a lack of diversity. Gamers want more progressive elements, more diversity, more equity and more inclusion.

 

[EDMIX]

No, it bombed because people want to have a realistic WW2 game. Quirky characters that are totally out of place with what really happened is an immersion turn off.

I disagree.

I just don't see much evidence to suggest this as the best selling WW2 titles happen to not actually be simulations, in fact I'd argue some of the worst selling WW2 titles and FPS titles in general are sims...

So...I question where the fuck are those "people" when those sims are made, its not like we are talking about something that doesn't exist lol Those fucking Steam WW2 sims should be destroying this game in sales lol I can agree that someone might be turned off by those characters, I can agree that even myself don't really play those types of titles and like realistic games.....I don't see a metric to argue THAT ITSELF is why this title did poorly by their standards, it still moved massive numbers and sold circles around those sims for us to really pretend that is the real why here...

I think Activision might be right about the setting. I think its part of the reason, the biggest selling COD titles are the future ones, that install base gives a shit about a lot of that modern, future stuff.

 

[SkylineRKR]

I've played Vanguard a fair bit, and its a mess, but also a fun mess at times. The time to action is hilariously short because of the spawns. Its hard to get pissed off because you will score a few kills on next spawn anyway.

WW2 isn't the problem, but rather the uninteresting settings and out of place dressing of it.

I barely had the feeling playing a WW2 game, not even during the campaign. It could've taken place in the 70's as well. So I don't think WW2 itself is the issue here.

 

[March Climber]

Also, Medal of Honor was always the King of WW2 when it came to single player campaigns.

 

[mcjmetroid]

I'm no fan of Activision but a lot of publications like ign seen to be running with the fact Activision is literally blaming WWII itself for the games failure.

Activision On Call of Duty Vanguard's Underperforming Sales: It Was World War II - IGN

In a recent report, Activision Blizzard blames Call of Duty: Vanguard's World War 2 setting on the game's disappointing sales.

www.ign.com

I mean... Ok.

 

[NeonGhost]

Didn’t buy it because it had an absolute shit zombies mode

 

[EDMIX]

Also, Medal of Honor was always the King of WW2 when it came to single player campaigns.

Damn those were some good ass times.

EA should re-re....reboot the IP with ReSpawn making it just for the lolz at everything coming full circle lol

 

[SpongebobSquaredance]

Also, Medal of Honor was always the King of WW2 when it came to single player campaigns.

and then they made this

effectively turning the series into an unpolished, underwhelming and poor COD knock off.

I remember when they tried to market those games as realistic. lol

 

[Majormaxxx]

and then they made this

effectively turning the series into an unpolished, underwhelming and poor COD knock off.

I remember when they tried to market those games as realistic. lol

Warfighter to me was especially bad. Campaign felt like a shooting gallery the way enemies would pop. And the inclusion of the operator's wives was laughable. Like a poor gamer's The Unit TV show rip off.

 

[EDMIX]

Warfighter to me was especially bad. Campaign felt like a shooting gallery the way enemies would pop. And the inclusion of the operator's wives was laughable. Like a poor gamer's The Unit TV show rip off.

That game felt like the worst FX show ever made lol

 

[VN1X]

It failed because people are tired of sweating in casual multiplayer matches. It failed because the hitreg and netcode is shoddy. It failed because the weapons, attachments, killstreaks, etc have nothing to do with WWII (might as well be an alternate timeline that regard lol). It failed because the map design is AWFUL. It failed because the visibility is piss poor.

And also this:

 

[GHG]

It underperformed due to a lack of diversity. Gamers want more progressive elements, more diversity, more equity and more inclusion.

This. So this.

Microsoft please listen to this man. Be brave and the outcome will be stunning.

 

[PendekarRajawali]

Well you can't make everyone happy.
Gamers after Modern Warfrage trilogy: We need futuristic military shooters.
Gamers after Blops3, Advanced warfare: The boots need to be on the ground, bring it on WW2.
Gamers after WW2 and Vanguard: We don't know what we want.

 

[Markio128]

Each new COD is just like changing the colours on a Rubik’s cube.

 

[Jaybe]

At least they are pointing the finger at themselves. More companies should have this accountability. Then you have EA blaming the Halo launch for BF2024, and 343 blaming pesky vacations for slow content.

 

[Salz01]

It really didn’t feel like a WW2 game. I was so hyped for Vanguard, but it’s my least favorite COD. Even Ghosts is better than this.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Its true tho, me and a group of codbros I play with all ignored it because we couldnt be arsed with old guns and the ww2 setting anymore

 

[Fuz]

 

[Valedix]

Maybe it was just a bad game instead

 

[ManaByte]

and then they made this

effectively turning the series into an unpolished, underwhelming and poor COD knock off.

I remember when they tried to market those games as realistic. lol

At least the latest one (developed by Respawn) is WWII again but in VR.

 

[N0S]

and then they made this

effectively turning the series into an unpolished, underwhelming and poor COD knock off.

I remember when they tried to market those games as realistic. lol

Man, I had a lot of fun sniping in MP with that first reboot.

 

[Catphish]

I have no problem with WWII games, as long as they treat the subject matter with the respect it deserves.

Games that treat WWII like a theme park, turning a theater of pain, suffering, and sacrifice into some cheap ass gimmick where you can rewrite history and shoehorn silly, modern-day social sensibilities into... that I have a problem with.

 

[NickFire]

The issue isn’t WW2. It’s the absurd treatment of WW2 that makes it silly. That said, the MP is just as fun imo as the older games. The newer modes aren’t really my cup of tea, but classic MP has been something I play a couple times a week in spurts because same mindless fun I always enjoyed, and 120 fps option is awesome.

 

[Esppiral]

Nope, it flopped because 80€.

 

[Dorohedoro]

Warfighter to me was especially bad. Campaign felt like a shooting gallery the way enemies would pop. And the inclusion of the operator's wives was laughable. Like a poor gamer's The Unit TV show rip off.

And creepy...

 

[Northeastmonk]

WW2 is a fantastic setting for a war game. Activision also pushes these out every year. There’s not a whole lot of replay value to their single player and a lot of them are just forgotten with time.

It was just filled with set pieces. I wasn’t moved by it emotionally or anything. It was like creating super hero’s with military people. The villains weren’t menacing. The only big thing I enjoyed about Vanguard was the textures of the environment. Outside of that it was very forgettable. Even those walking sections felt half thought out and pointless at the end. The plot was basically WW2 meets the Rescue Rangers.

 

[MadPanda]

Also, Medal of Honor was always the King of WW2 when it came to single player campaigns.

Where's Allied Assault there? That the Ww2 fps game. I'd like ti play a remake of that game.

 

[skneogaf]

I still think a great story with amazing graphics, sound, level design and set pieces can sell.

Nobody wants to play as different people as you don't grow attachment.

 

[Clear]

Zombies was/is an insult.

The sheer stupidity of it almost rose to the level of deliberate self-sabotage. This is how you alienate your fanbase.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I personally think it had its moments, but I think folks that are REALLY into history-based FPS titles would prefer accuracy. But if you're creating some fictional "what if" scenario, then why not lean into it super hard? I mean, things that are so far from realism, like stuff you'd see in Wolfenstein where there's this insane level of technology. This one skirted the line somewhere in-between. Not in a great way either IMO.

I loved World at War, and didn't get to play WW2 too much, but it's clear that it being the WW2 setting isn't the issue here. I think it's all about the delivery.

 

[March Climber]

Where's Allied Assault there? That the Ww2 fps game. I'd like ti play a remake of that game.

I didn't want to overload the thread with pictures of a franchise filled with hits.

 

[March Climber]

and then they made this

effectively turning the series into an unpolished, underwhelming and poor COD knock off.

I remember when they tried to market those games as realistic. lol

Warfighter to me was especially bad. Campaign felt like a shooting gallery the way enemies would pop. And the inclusion of the operator's wives was laughable. Like a poor gamer's The Unit TV show rip off.

And creepy...

Not disagreeing with these takes, however in terms of the thread topic, CoD can't seem to get it right every time they go back to that era of war. Plus their fanbase simply doesn't want it. MoH fanbase would be pleased with a new WW2 game that played like a better version of the PS1 and PS2 games.

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Vanguard is shit. And I love WWII setting games. I liked COD WWII too, but the key setback for me for that game is small number of maps. Maybe more free maps came later, but I bailed by then. War Mode was repetitive as hell with the same 3 maps (again, maybe they added more but I missed it).

Vanguard is trash though. Right from the start playing the beta it looked crappy, the enemy detection was off, and it had a weird vibe of WWII guns but didnt feel like a WWII game. COD WWII and World at War do.

Then played the final game and thought it was just as shit. Whatever day one patches they did made no difference to me.

 

[Fake]

Nothing to do with WW2. Flooped because is cringe.

 

[SpongebobSquaredance]

Not disagreeing with these takes, however in terms of the thread topic, CoD can't seem to get it right every time they go back to that era of war. Plus their fanbase simply doesn't want it. MoH fanbase would be pleased with a new WW2 game that played like a better version of the PS1 and PS2 games.

I mean.. Medal of Honor used to be the originator of cinematic war shooters. First there was still some rivalry between CoD and MoH. Then CoD hit it big time with CoD 4 (every sequel is based on this game, no matter the setting). For MoH to go and copy CoD was kinda a punch in the stomach for fans.

 

[ManaByte]

A lot of people didn’t really play through the campaign and just watched OutrageTube videos about it.

The campaign is actually good (the Midway level is awesome) and it’s basically a WWII A-Team hunting down Nazi secrets after the war. I’d want a sequel picking up where this one left off.

The problem is the MP where they put laser sights on WWII era weapons.

 

[Surf Ninja]

I just thought it was kind of generic. I had fun with multiplayer, but I always do.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

A lot of people didn’t really play through the campaign and just watched OutrageTube videos about it.

The campaign is actually good (the Midway level is awesome) and it’s basically a WWII A-Team hunting down Nazi secrets after the war. I’d want a sequel picking up where this one left off.

The problem is the MP where they put laser sights on WWII era weapons.

The thing is many gamers (like me) dont play COD SP, so no matter how good it is we'll never see it.

The weapon adjustments were weird. But Activision had to do it so that modern day gamers who love the modern warfare and futuristic black ops settings could get their fill. Activision doesn't seem confident a purely WWII game with old ass gear would be interesting enough for shooter fans.

Considering how bad Vanguard was received, it might be the last WWII game they make. They got 3 teams rotating games.... MW, Black Ops, and some other kind of game whether it's WWII, Infinite Warfare, Cold War etc... You can probably scratch off the WWII option.

But if the rumour is true and COD games dont come out every year, they can make do with a MW/BO combo.

 

[AtomicStarving]

"due to WARZONE"

Warzone is killing COD as we know it.

 

[nikolino840]

Nobody cares about WW1 or WW2 setting they need to stop with that setting it a bored fest

Loved bf1... At least there's gas bombs and gas masks and horses ... Helped the gameplay ...

 

[EverydayBeast]

First of all the call of duty franchise has been wrestled into the ground with World War Two games since it's first release in 2004, there's been 19 games in the series since many of them world war 2.

Call of Duty since has been mashed together in one menu instead of a traditional game bootup for quick and easy game changing. Just wow.

The characters (Arthur Kingsley, Polina Petrova, Wade Jackson and Lucas Riggs) are all developed characters but lean heavily on being the female gender, or the rebellious Australian, or the African American British man I don't know if this was intentional but its typical woke narrative of today.

The mp has been torched by fans in the past for using jet packs, things like changing to future warfare, perks not showing up in new games and honestly Black Ops Cold War has the same score (8/10) in my book.

If cod vanguard knocks on your door you go out and play with it, I’ll take vanguard and it’s 16 maps, zombies etc. over any shooter out there.