Everything we know about Call Of Duty: Vanguard so far

Another year, another addition to the Call Of Duty franchise. This year’s game, COD: Vanguard, transports players back to World War II as members of the Special Forces, marking the series’s return to WWII for the first time since 2017’s COD: WW2. While the game isn’t set to release until November 5, some details have been revealed about both the multiplayer mode and the early access beta.

The latest multiplayer trailer, aside from depicting some gameplay, gives fans a basic overview of what they can expect:

It looks like there will be 20 maps in the new multiplayer mode that span across the globe. The environment will also be destructible, although to what extent remains to be seen. The trailer shows sequences where players shot through walls to open up better vantage points and destroyed sections of a battleship to access other portions of the map. There also seems to be an initiative to increase diversity within the playable characters, or operators, as they are known. This comes on the heels of last year’s release, where players could use non-binary characters in the campaign mode for Black Ops Cold War.

Gain early access — For those who cannot wait for the official release date, there will be an early access beta available. The beta will take place over two weekends — the first of which, will be this upcoming one beginning on Friday, September 10 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET). You will have until the following Monday, September 13 at the same time to test out the new multiplayer mode. Weekend two will start on Thursday, September 16 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) and last until Monday, September 20 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET).

Keep in mind, though, that you will need to pre-order the game in order to participate in the first beta. The second weekend will be open to all Playstation owners, regardless of pre-order status.

Vanguard will be the first major product announcement since Activision Blizzard has been mired in controversy surrounding the company’s failure to properly handle a toxic workplace culture of sexual harassment and discrimination. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in late July, alleging it was unable to properly address these aforementioned claims.

Creative choice? — When the debut trailer of Vanguard was released earlier this summer, the Activision logo and iconography were noticeably absent. In a rather unprecedented tweak that runs against traditional COD marketing decisions, it seemed like a move to distance the franchise from the lawsuit Activision is currently facing. A company spokesperson stated that the decision boiled down to “a creative choice that reflects how Vanguard represents the next major installment in the franchise.” The most recent multiplayer trailer reverses course however, as the Activision logo is featured at the end screen of the video.