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Call of Duty: Vanguard's upcoming alpha allegedly once featured the Activision logo at the start of the game but may have been removed. The next installment in the Call of Duty franchise is expected to go into beta in September, with the full game's release scheduled for November 5.
Both seem to be trying to maneuver around this as the Call of Duty: Vanguard trailer was noticeably missing the Activision logo. The publisher has prominently displayed its logo across the marketing for the series for many years but chose to take a backseat this year. Activision gave a statement noting that it chose not to include its logo in the reveal trailer for the game so it could simply showcase the brand of Call of Duty. That said, players have noticed Activision is continuing to distance itself from Vanguard, even in playable builds of the game.
This weekend, fans will have the first chance to go hands-on with Call of Duty: Vanguard via a playable alpha on PlayStation. Some players have noticed that there's no mention of Activision in the Call of Duty: Vanguard alpha in a prominent fashion. The publisher's name is noticeably absent from the collection of logos seen when the alpha is booted up, but it may not have always been that way. VGC is reporting that one of its readers, Martin Rener, was able to capture a video that showcased a pre-patched version of the alpha with the Activision logo. This would imply that alpha was updated to remove the logo from the game, but was fully intended to be there initially.
Of course, there's a chance this is fake, but given Activision has already removed its logo from other media related to Call of Duty: Vanguard, it's quite possible it's real as well. The Call of Duty: Vanguard alpha can be launched right now, but isn't playable as servers aren't live. It's unclear if the logo will resurface in time for the actual launch of the alpha or if it might reappear when the beta begins next month.
Activision's logo hasn't been on the front cover of a Call of Duty game in years, but it'll be interesting if it appears on the back of the box or even in the boot-up screen of the full version of Call of Duty: Vanguard. Call of Duty is synonymous with Activision at this point, so it's unlikely this makes much of a difference to anyone who's already aware of the lawsuit. Whether or not the game's sales will be impacted, regardless of whether the publisher's logo is attached to the game, remains to be seen.
Source: VGC