The upcoming release of Call of Duty: Vanguard has created an odd situation for Activision Blizzard's studios and the broader Call of Duty franchise. That's because the Call of Duty franchise now how a significant amount of interconnectedness, particularly between Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone. That's why Call of Duty: Vanguard's exclusive Operator for pre-orderers has suddenly become a point of contention, as players wonder when and where they'll have access to the Operator.
The Operator in question is named Arthur Kingsley, and he's one of Call of Duty: Vanguard's four protagonists. He's also being advertised as a pre-order/pre-purchase bonus ahead of Call of Duty: Vanguard's release in November. Pre-ordering Call of Duty: Vanguard is supposed to unlock the Operator for both Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone as a playable character. However, now that Call of Duty fans are pre-ordering Vanguard, Operator Kingsley is nowhere to be found.
It now seems that Call of Duty fans will have to wait longer than expected to receive their pre-order bonus for Call of Duty: Vanguard. Operator Kingsley will be granted to Call of Duty: Vanguard pre-orderers at a later date, for both Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone. The reason for this seeming delay hasn't been announced, but a date for Operator Kingsley should be shared soon.
The other portion of the Call of Duty: Vanguard pre-order purchase, the Night Raid Mastercraft weapon, has not been caught up in Operator Kingsley's delay. The blueprint will be given to pre-orderers immediately after the completion of their pre-order. The Mastercraft submachine gun is available in both Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone, of course.
With the Night Raid Mastercraft submachine gun being available now, it implies that the delay of Operator Kingsley was not Activision Blizzard's original plan. It would make much more sense for Operator Kingsley to be released alongside the Mastercraft weapon, which means something must have kept the studio from putting out the Operator as planned. Odds are there was just too much on the developers' plate.
As frustrating as it may be to not get promised content when expected, delays happen in game development all the time. It's nothing done intentionally, so Call of Duty fans will hopefully be understanding. With Call of Duty: Vanguard releasing in November, there's still plenty of time to deliver Operator Kingsley ahead of launch.
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases November 5 on PC, PS5, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.