How Vanguard Could Finally Kill Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone was created with the best of intentions. The battle royale genre was booming, and there was a serious Call of Duty-shaped hole in the market that the franchise was more than willing to fill. In the time since its launch in March 2020, the title has become synonymous with its genre, and arguably, brought the series snapping back to life. It’s done a hell of a lot of good for Call of Duty, but for many, it’s become lost in itself.

The game is no stranger to problems - problems that plague the player, the streamer and the developer without any meaningful recourse. This has led many to abandon the title for the swathes of free-to-play battle royale shooters that have nestled into the market since Warzone first made its loud arrival in the genre.

It’s these problems, and the suggestion of a stark and whiplash-inducing change that may be coming to the game, that could finally do what its unaddressed issues have threatened to do for many months now - put Warzone in the ground for good.

The Modern Vanguard

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As the rumour mill works like never before to churn out new details about the upcoming Call of Duty 2021 title, commonly known as Vanguard, it’s able to create new suggestions about Warzone in turn, especially after we’ve seen the “Vanguard coming” teaser embedded into the battle royale’s season five trailer. And with this has come the rumour that Verdansk could be completely refreshed with a new World War II setting, putting the firearms of the ‘30s and ‘40s in the hands of players and releasing them into a whole new playground.

Under any other circumstances, this would be a delightful change of pace. A game like Warzone does naturally need a refresh every once in a while, and new content would be welcome - if it weren’t for what Raven Software are trying so hard to distract us from.

Twitching & Glitching

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It’s no secret that Warzone has a cheating and hacking problem. It’s become synonymous with the game at this point, with many deeming the AAA title entirely unplayable. Among those, many are even the streamers that millions of fans consider to be the final lifeline of the game - with influencers like Dr Disrespect expressing their incredible disdain of the game almost daily. The game has far too many problems to ignore, and certainly too many to be brushing it off for the sake of a new promotional change to the game.

The horrors in-game that many players face, stripping the Warzone experience of any sincere fun and making it a hovel for cheaters and hackers, have pushed away enough players already. If Raven Software elects to choose more new distractions over the fundamental fixes that are required for any real stability, then the facade is likely to begin to peel away, exposing the game for the twitching catastrophe many dedicated players have known it to be for a while now. The casual player is in danger of seeing the game for what it has truly become.

Guerilla Advertising

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The biggest problem that threatens Warzone is it becoming something it simply isn’t as part of the newest promotional push for Vanguard. Of course, the game in its current state is an amalgam of Modern Warfare 2019 and Black Ops Cold War, but these are still recognisable eras with a degree of nostalgia about their design.

World War II is a whole different beast, being such a bold step away from the architecture of Cold War’s 1980s that Verdansk’s skyscrapers and stadiums may not have even existed in its time-twisted counterpart. And if this bold step doesn’t please fans with its additions and changes, this cocktail of eras, weapons and playstyles runs the risk of making fans feel like Warzone was treated as a promotional tool rather than its own game. This is not what the game nor its fans deserve, as it’s made its name in the battle royale genre for a reason - and everything that once made the game stand out could be at risk, making for a whole swathe of fans abandoning ship for the market’s other BR titles.

The Start Of The End?

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There are a lot of avenues that Warzone can take here. In the face of a new game, there could be new playlists or a new canonical story introduction that makes the change a lot less rocky. But as of right now, as we stare down the barrel of Warzone year two season five, a lot could go wrong. And if Raven Software can’t stick the landing, if they gloss over the game’s bugs, if they try to stretch a new 1940's lick of paint over the already patchwork frame of the game that’s been in danger of crashing and burning for a little while now - it could be the final nail in the coffin.

We sincerely hope that Raven can pull this transition out of the bag. But, hell, if the cards aren’t stacked against them this time.