Over the past week, gamers have gone from having nothing apart from leaked details on Call of Duty: Vanguard to having a ton of information based on the game. Campaign information has been shared, with the four playable characters all being highlighted by Sledgehammer Games. Call of Duty: Warzone’s new anti-cheat system and fresh map have been teased further, while an impressive map count of 20 has been confirmed for the game’s multiplayer.
While all this Call of Duty: Vanguard info is promising, perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the game will be its Zombies mode. In the past, every Call of Duty game’s Zombies mode has been developed by the main studio behind the title. This meant that Call of Duty: WW2 Zombies was made by Sledgehammer, and Call of Duty: Infinity Warfare Zombies was developed by Infinity Ward. However, Treyarch will be behind Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies, with many excited since the developer was responsible for the mode’s creation and its best iterations. However, fans should not be so sure that Treyarch’s return will mean a mode like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s.
What Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies’ Description Could Mean
After Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Warzone reveal event, and the release of the trailer, a lengthy blog post was shared by Activision and Sledgehammer Games. In that blog post, several details were covered regarding the game, with a small section detailing Zombies. While the information in this section is limited, the wording used could have some serious implications for this year’s take on the iconic Survival mode.
One interesting sentence states that Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies “continues and intertwines with the Dark Aether Story.” This is interesting for a few reasons. First, the comment that this new narrative intertwines with what is going on in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War confirms that it be happening alongside that story - or more specifically, before it. After all, the mode will likely be made using World War 2-era assets, so it makes sense for it to be set in the 1940s as well. This “precursor” could give fans a look at Projekt Endstation in its prime - though this would be tough to accomplish without reusing Die Maschine.
This also confirms that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies will likely end on a cliffhanger. If the story was all wrapped up in the Season 6 Survival map, it would not make much sense to expand it further through a prequel. Clearly, Treyarch has big plans for the Dark Aether narrative, with the storyline possibly being continued for a decade just like the original Aether storyline. What fate Weaver, Samantha, and the Requiem Director will have in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War may be unclear, but it does seem like it will only end up being one chapter of the new story.
However, an equally important line from the blog posts tells Call of Duty Zombies fans that the mode is going to be significantly different from what has come before. This version of the mode will be “innovating on the core gameplay” of Zombies. This means that massive changes could be on the way, as core gameplay means things like points, rounds, perks, and weapons. While it is unclear how far this innovation will go, the fact that Treyarch will be adjusting the main mechanics of the mode implies that meaningful changes are imminent. Given the success of one big Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War experiment, though, one possibile shift makes sense.
What Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Could Look Like
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Outbreak mode has become a massive success for Treyarch. With the studio having wanted to make an open world mode work since TranZit, it finally was able to do so with the multi-team maps from multiplayer. Featuring objectives instead of traditional rounds, as well as some side missions and a focus on looting, the gameplay loop in Outbreak is entirely different - something that has attracted many newcomers to Zombies.
While many do still prefer the classic style of round-based Survival, Outbreak has attracted casual players and those that prefer a more laid back Zombies experience. Given that Treyarch has stated how large the player base for Outbreak is, it would make sense for similar experiences to continue going forward. While nobody wants round-based Zombies to disappear, the suggestion that Treyarch could save traditional Survival maps for its own games is not unreasonable. This could prevent burnout, with players only getting a classic Zombies experience every three years. In the games between, experimental modes like Outbreak could be used to fill the void and progress the story.
Assuming that some of the fan suggestions for Outbreak are taken into consideration, Treyarch could focus on a single large-scale map instead of having players warp to different locations. Not only would this provide a proper open world feel, but Treyarch could acknowledge Outbreak’s biggest criticism. Thus far, players have only played Outbreak on reused multiplayer maps, something that has made some struggle to connect with the mode. The maps do not feel like they were built for Outbreak, with all of the areas being isolated and failing to reflect the idea that an undead attack has taken place. If all the Call of Duty: Vanguard resources are focused on open world Zombies, though, a fully original map could take center stage.
Story-wise, Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies being a prequel means that characters like Samantha Maxis are unlikely to appear. Instead, figures like Strauss could be shown in their younger years, with the doctor’s role in Projekt Endstation brought into focus. Characters fans have come to know over the past year beyond Strauss and Vogel will likely not be seen if the game mode is indeed set in World War 2, meaning that an entirely fresh cast could end up guiding players through the next Zombies mode.
Obviously, this is purely speculation, and there is a chance that Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies will feature traditional Survival gameplay and will somehow make the Cold War-era characters prominent in the story. Still, Treyarch’s brief description implies that this mode will be a fair bit different from what players expect, both in terms of its plot and its core gameplay. While it will still be connected to the Dark Aether universe, giving fans a reason to care, it could boast an entirely different feeling. Though it may be divisive, there is no denying just how well Outbreak has performed. As such, Treyarch doubling down and creating an even more open experience could be a possibility. With Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies set in the past, too, Treyarch may be willing to get more experimental with its content - leading to a mode that is noticeably different from what was seen in the latest Black Ops game.
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases November 5 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Call of Duty Blog