Back in the day, Call of Duty used to be synonymous with dramatic retellings of the events of WW2, a far cry from most games in the franchise post-2006. Granted it's not a bad thing; all long-lasting game franchises like Call of Duty are ever-changing, and the WW2 setting can only be tapped into for so long before fans start feeling fatigue. That was best evidenced by Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which eschewed the WW2 setting for the first time with its titular modern setting. Every now and then the franchise has returned to a WW2 setting, but the recently leaked Call of Duty: Vanguard marks a very different return to WW2.
To be fair, all of the known information for 2021's Call of Duty is solely based on leaks, so this may note necessarily hold true for the campaign at the very least. However, based on the datamined material (and the seeming confirmation from the official Call of Duty Twitter account), Call of Duty: Vanguard is taking a more fantastical approach to WW2. While leakers have talked about a "historically accurate" singleplayer mode, the multiplayer is clearly taking cues from Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War's battle pass customizations. Based on images of Vanguard's battle pass, that same historical accuracy may be entirely eschewed for fun factor in multiplayer.
Call of Duty: Vanguard's Leaked Images and Details
Obviously Call of Duty has never been entirely historically accurate; in fact, in a few examples, Call of Duty has had a problematic propensity for being historically inaccurate to a problematic degree. However, multiplayer has never really been the place where history was even a remotely important factor, at least on a surface level. Multiplayer has always been about honing and refining gunplay, loadout, killstreak/scorestreak, and equipment balance to create an enjoyable and satisfying experience. Modern Warfare's release back in 2019 had tons of bombastic operators and absurd skins, and Black Ops Cold War followed suit to an even higher degree.
Based on the leaked images datamined from a Black Ops Cold War update (which have since been issued copyright takedowns in multiple examples by Activision) seem to depict fantastical weapon blueprints and operator skins are coming to the long-rumored Vanguard. These images depicted skins for "Lucas," "Polina," and "Wade" operators, as well as custom weapon blueprints for what appear to be versions of a STG 44, a Type 100, and some kind of M1 Carbine-esque scoped rifle. Additionally, there was a Mastercraft "Night Raid" weapon blueprint for what appears to be a PPSh-41.
Vanguard's Depiction of WW2 in Multiplayer May Be Very Different
In all fairness, the last WW2-set game Call of Duty: WW2 was not exactly holistically faithful to the setting either. Call of Duty has always featured golden guns, absurd and stylistic decals and weapon colors, among other fancy visual changes to guns, and Call of Duty: WW2 was no exception. However, Modern Warfare and subsequently Black Ops Cold War started taking things a step further with highly stylized skins that significantly change the shape and stats of weapons. Vanguard seems to be borrowing this same approach to weapon blueprints, alongside more operators and different skins for them, which will presumably carry over into Warzone as well.
The guns pictured in the Call of Duty: Vanguard leaks are particularly noticeable because of additional leaks that had specifically mentioned how Vanguard was going for a "historically accurate" depiction, which may not necessarily be true. Of course, with that quote being mentioned alongside leaked guns like the Night Raid, that have shark teeth decals on a period-inaccurate rifle barrel, many were quick to make jokes. Silliness aside, it's certainly different from Call of Duty games in the past that largely limited customization to guns alone. With operator, vehicle, and structurally different gun skins, Vanguard's multiplayer will be aesthetically more bombastic than before.
Games like Call of Duty: WW2, Call of Duty: World at War, and the classic Call of Duty games before always retained the sort-of drab color scheme that a lot of WW2 media uses to depict that time in history. Alongside that visual style, basically any weapons largely remained as original as possible in structure, and multiplayer only really allowed for certain camouflage skins (with the exception of golden guns and such) for visual customization. However, given the experimentation of visual customization and aesthetic with Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Vanguard's depiction of WW2 could have a more vibrant aesthetic compared to previous depictions of the war.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is rumored to be in development.