If Modern Warzone’s information is correct, the next CoD will let us once again get a glimpse into the horrors of mankind’s most devastating conflict. Activision seems determined to release at least one game in the series every year. To be able to do it, the company gives the license to more than one developer to avoid a rushed release. The newest game, allegedly under the working title of Call of Duty WW2: Vanguard, is being developed by Sledgehammer, the studio that gave us CoD: WWII back in 2017, which was met with rather mixed reactions. Critics had a generally positive opinion about the game, while user reviews on Metacritic averaged below 5/10 for all platforms. Regardless, it seems the publisher was satisfied with the result and decided to make Sledgehammer their specialists for CoD in the WW2 setting.
CoD 2021 rumors
Initial gossip pointed to an alternate version of history, one in which WW2 did not end in 1945. However, Eurogamer stated that CoD: Vanguard would not attempt to rewrite the past. The website Modern Warzone reported that though the game is supposed to be set during WW2, some of its elements will take place in the 1950s (perhaps during the Korean War?), which – historically – is a few years after WW2. How will all of this be combined is anyone’s guess. The series has revisited WW2 only once in the last decade and it will be interesting to see if this comeback is just a one-off, or whether the company plans to focus more on its roots in the upcoming years.
Modern Warzone also reports that COD 2021 as well as other future titles may receive their own Warzone map, with guns and assets transferred to the battle royale version. This idea is further supported by the fact that Activision has already decided to merge Warzone content with Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare.
World War II at the roots of the series
The comeback to the setting might come as a surprise, judging by the fact of how successful the more modern installments in the series have been recently, but WW2 served as the foundation for COD. The first game in the series was released in 2003 to critical acclaim, and the developers did not experiment with the setting until the premiere of Modern Warfare in 2007.
An experienced team at the helm
Despite mixed reactions from the community after the release of CoD: WWII, the developer – Sledgehammer Games – has a number of achievements to boast. In 2011, the company worked together with Infinity Ward on CoD: Modern Warfare 3, and it was their first CoD project. In 2014, they released CoD: Advanced Warfare, which was positively approached by critics, but with average ratings given by the community at metacritic.com. In 2017 the company brought the series back to WWII, and two years later assisted Infinity Ward with the reboot of Modern Warfare. Their most recent contribution to the series was the support of Treyarch and Raven Software with Black Ops Cold War. If rumors are correct, COD 2021 may be their first solo project since 2017.
So far, Activision hasn’t revealed any details apart from the sole fact that the company is indeed preparing for a “strong premium release planned for Q4 in 2021”. We just have to wait and see.
