Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War certainly has its strengths, as the game’s campaign features some excellent new mechanics tied to player choice. Further, the Prestige Shop was a great addition, as it gives high level players more things to unlock. From a mechanical standpoint, Call of Duty Zombies has never been better, as systems like armor and salvage have allowed for some great progression in the mode. Beyond these points, though, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is viewed by many as a step back for the series.

With this in mind, the recent comments about Call of Duty: Vanguard are concerning. Coming from the reputable insider Tom Henderson, the World War 2-focused game will supposedly be a lot like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. This gives fans a good reason to be worried, and it unfortunately lines up with the other rumors suggesting the game is struggling with development. Given the current Call of Duty game’s issues with content and bugs, Sledgehammer possibly repeating its mistakes would undoubtedly be disappointing to fans.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Plentiful Bugs

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Even the biggest Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fan would have a hard time ignoring the game’s bugs and glitches. Seemingly endless, these have led to everything from crashes to unfairly banned accounts. Split-screen remains broken, while some rewards have refused to unlock. Players have been stuck on menu screens and textures have refused to load in. Care packages have gotten stuck outside the map, while guns have completely disappeared from the inventory of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fans. The list goes on and on, ensuring that in-game issues have had a huge impact on the game’s quality.

Given the development of the game, this is understandable to an extent. A large chunk of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was made during the height of COVID-19, with the global pandemic having a huge impact on development. On top of this, Treyarch had to step in and rescue the project from developer Sledgehammer Games. While it was mot the studio’s turn in the three-year cycle, problems during development led to Treyarch needing to step in. As a result, Treyarch had a lot less time to make Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, explaining why it launched in the state that it did.

Still, while there is an explanation for why it happened, the reality is that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the most unpolished game in the Call of Duty series. For a series that always delivers on smooth, refined gameplay, its messy launch has seen it being repaired half a year after its debut. Based on the rumors regarding Call of Duty 2021’s development, history could very well repeat itself later this year. While this would surely be a big blow for the series and its fan base, gamers may want to brace for impact. If Tom Henderson is correct, another glitch-filled Call of Duty game could be right around the corner.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Lack Of Content At Launch

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s rushed development did not only lead to bugs, but also a major lack of content. As pointed out in many reviews for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the map count was startlingly small. Only eight 6v6 maps were available on day one, and while Nuketown did come a few weeks later, this is a fair bit less than what fans had come to expect. With 6v6 being the lifeblood of Call of Duty multiplayer, seeing its map count lessened due to the addition of huge modes like Fireteam was frustrating. It also led to the game becoming stale for many players, with post-launch Seasons being more crucial than ever before.

This was even more apparent for Zombies fans, as the game launched with a single Zombies map. This was the first time this happened since Call of Duty: World at War, as every Treyarch game afterwards had at least two maps available on day one. In the case of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies, there were four maps available to play from the very beginning. Seeing Treyarch go from four maps to one is a startling change, and for many, it proved to be a major issue. While the mode has excellent mechanics, being stuck with only Die Maschine for so long was a huge problem.

If development on Call of Duty: Vanguard is as troubled as some are saying, it is in danger of repeating the exact same mistake. While bugs are one thing, gamers will play around them and push through if they are enjoying the game. However, a lack of content is much more damaging, as things begin to feel repetitive far too quickly. Considering that 2017’s Call of Duty: WW2 only had nine maps when it first debuted, this would not be a new occurrence for Sledgehammer Games. If the game has a content issue like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, it will be on the road to redemption as soon as it arrives.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Mixed Post-Launch Support

Activision Treyarch

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s post-launch Seasons have been a mixed bag when it comes to their content. While major additions like the Outbreak mode have worked out well, and Treyarch has been extremely consistent with adding extra weapons, other areas have been lacking. While Seasons 3 and 4 have done well with multiplayer map drops, Season 2 only saw one new 6v6 map added. Likewise, only one 12v12 map has come after launch, ensuring that Combined Arms fans have been left behind.

Much like with the lack of content at launch, Zombies has shown this problem clearly. Only one new Survival map has been added thus far, with the second Survival map just recently being announced. By the time players are exploring Mauer Der Toten, there will have been a five-month window between map releases. Twice as long as the normal wait time for DLC maps, this slowdown has served as a huge hit to the community of the the third game mode. Further, it seems like only one more map will come after Mauer Der Toten, ensuring that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies’ DLC Season is as short as Call of Duty: World at War’s.

With additions like League Play also being a mess upon release, every good content drop seems to come with something that lets gamers down. If Call of Duty: Vanguard is anything like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, gamers can expect some missteps in its post-launch Seasons. The Zombies mode specifically could continue to suffer from the Seasonal approach, with the mode being treated as an afterthought once again. While Call of Duty: Vanguard will likely keep some controversial features like skill-based matchmaking, hopefully anything else that it takes from the 2020 game is limited to what it got right. If Call of Duty: Vanguard is like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in every way, gamers could be looking at a buggy release with limited content for the second year in a row.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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