OpTic Director Says Vanguard Is A 'Spit In The Face' For Esports

With another annual release of the Call of Duty franchise out there for all to play, the fandom has been split down the middle as to whether Vanguard is a title for the ages or another stopping gap from Sledgehammer Games. Combined with Warzone, Vanguard has been a playground for casual fans, with an emphasis on higher-paced brawls with larger teams, whilst the competitive Call of Duty community has been left red-faced and almost forgotten about.

After a month of radio silence from the esports sides of the Call of Duty franchise, and delays to the Challengers scene due to a severe lack of preparation (including no third game mode and dedicated ruleset), OpTic Creative Director Davis "Hitchariide" Edwards has claimed that the game has been a "complete spit in the face to competitive Call of Duty."

Hitchariide Says Vanguard Is "A Complete Spit In The Face To Competitive Call Of Duty"

As an integral part of OpTic Texas' content team and arguably their biggest fan, Hitchariide lives and breathes the competitive side of Call of Duty alongside the likes of Seth "Scump" Abner for the Green Wall - even becoming the good luck charm for the Ginja Ninja after a Yeezy fiasco during the Black Ops Cold War season.

However, the content creator has now lashed out at the developers, expressing his sadness at how the franchise has fallen, once being the "most-watched console esport in the world."

Hitch took to Twitter to say, "Vanguard so far has been a complete spit in the face to competitive Call of Duty. I’d much rather have an official press release from Activision explaining how little they care about the future of the esport."

Call of Duty Pros Back Hitchariide's Activision Criticism 

With the likes of Rocket League and Halo challenging Call of Duty for the console crown, Call of Duty pros have also backed Hitchariide's stance.

The opinions were echoed by former pros such as Tommy "ZooMaa" Paparrato and two-time World Champ Jordan "JKap" Kaplan, who both replied saying "preach". The ever vocal 100 Thieves Assault Rifle main Sam "Octane" Larew also chimed in, backing the stance in a cryptic manner due to his reputation for getting fined for critical comments. The Human Turret said, "I’d tweet this but they got my bank on speed dial," taking Hitch's stance without earning himself another levy.

The general consensus stems from the lack of support from Sledgehammer Games, whereas 343 Industries proved their superiority with a perfectly mapped-out esports calendar, and Psyonix jetted players off for the first worldwide Rocket League LAN in two years.

Call of Duty fans and players alike will hope Hitch's comments will spur Activision on to reveal the 2022 seasonal calendar, working closely with Sledgehammer Games to finally roll out the third game mode (Control) and settle on a structured rule class.