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An upcoming Call of Duty: Vanguard map will reportedly give a Pacific twist to a fan-favorite map from the franchise's past. The newest entry in the first-person shooter series takes players back to World War II's numerous fronts and showcases the birth of the modern Special Forces. While the iconic shooter franchise has defined the genre in the past, Call of Duty: Vanguard's UK sales fell sharply compared to other recent entries such as Black Ops Cold War.
Before release Call of Duty: Vanguard was highly anticipated by fans, with the title promising to be an unprecedented evolution for the FPS franchise. The three core pillars of the series are its single-player campaigns, competitive multiplayer and cooperative Zombies horde mode, and Vanguard delivers all three of these experiences. The title also ties into Call of Duty: Warzone, with a brand-new map introduced to the battle royale game based on WWII's Pacific Theatre. Unfortunately, the franchise's newest entry was found to be a bit lackluster upon release, with players regarding the campaign as half-finished and the multiplayer mode a retread of past games. Only adding to the fan backlash is the fact that Call of Duty: Vanguard's Secrets of the Pacific event was pulled after an exceptionally buggy launch on November 24.
According to a report from Charlie INTEL, an upcoming Call of Duty: Vanguard map will act as a Pacific-inspired resurrection of a classic series map. An announcement from the title's developers lists a whole slew of free content arriving on December 8 including two new weapons, a new playable Operator, new Zombies content, new multiplayer modes, and two new maps. Apparently one of these maps will be a fresh take on "a fan-favorite classic Call of Duty map," though no additional details are given about which map it could be. All of this content will be made available when Call of Duty: Vanguard Season 1 begins on December 8.
Since launch Call of Duty: Vanguard has received its fair share of criticism, and fans' frustrations may soon spread over to its free-to-play sister Warzone. Since its launch, the battle royale shooter has integrated with more traditional series entries like Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War, and its crossover with Vanguard promises to be the most in-depth yet. Still, fans worry that Warzone's changes while merging with Vanguard, such as destructible environments, blind fire, and weapon proficiencies, could negatively impact the game.
First entering the field back in 2003, the Call of Duty franchise has grown to become a premier first-person shooter staple. Throughout that history, the franchise has seen a number of truly unique and beloved multiplayer maps, ranging from World at War's sprawling Castle to Black Ops' confined Nuketown. While it is currently unknown which classic map will be reborn into Call of Duty: Vanguard, fans will be able to experience it for themselves on December 8.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Sources: Charlie INTEL, CharlieINTEL/Twitter