Is Call of Duty Vanguard worth playing in 2023?

Shortly after its launch in 2021, Call of Duty Vanguard received plenty of attention from the shooter community. Being a fast-paced first-person shooter, Vanguard re-introduced the brutal combat style that Modern Warfare (2019) was popular for and made interesting changes to the existing gameplay mechanics of Call of Duty titles.

Call of Duty Vanguard showed massive promise at launch when it was deemed to be the best-selling video game in 2021. Unfortunately, things quickly turned sour as the community began pointing out the game's various flaws, resulting in sales numbers dropping drastically. Although Activision and its partners tried fixing all of the issues, it didn't seem to be enough.

New Call of Duty fans may face a dilemma regarding the World War 2-based shooter and whether its $60 price tag is worth the expense in 2023. Is the infamous but iconic FPS game worth giving a try this year? This article will help fans make that difficult decision.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.

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Call of Duty Vanguard isn't a must-pick in 2023, but may suit a portion of the player base

Currently available to play on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms, Vanguard features intriguing World War II scenes that veteran fans have appreciated, but these may still not be enough to make it a worthwhile experience.

The title introduced brand new revolutionary mechanics and systems that were extremely interesting at launch. Ultimately, none of this impressed long-standing fans of the franchise as the game faltered in multiple areas.

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No more seasonal content for Vanguard

Call of Duty Vanguard will not receive new seasonal updates beyond Season 5, which ended in November 2022. This means that Activision won't add any new major content to Vanguard in 2023 or beyond, which is understandable, considering that the game didn't meet the company's sales expectations back in 2021-2022.

Minor bug fixes and improvements can be expected as the game is still up and running with a considerable player base. However, with Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 currently going strong, official support for Vanguard will undoubtedly slow down.

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Campaign gives hope, but falters ultimately

Call of Duty Vanguard features a promising story at the heart of its campaign. It brings together a group of six soldiers, creating the very first Spec Ops task force known as Vanguard.

The task force goes on to pinpoint intelligence regarding Freisinger’s 'Project Phoenix,' which is an undercover Nazi program, and ends up getting captured by the Nazi forces. The campaign sheds light on how the characters develop and deal with several in-prison challenges before managing to escape and punish Freisinger.

Although Call of Duty Vanguard's campaign certainly started off on a promising note, the developers failed to deliver an engaging perspective further into the storyline. Several players reported unrealistic gameplay, performance hiccups, and other frustrating issues, which added to the campaign's many flaws.

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Multiplayer modes may be a relief, but failed to sit well with the player base

Interestingly, several Call of Duty fans continue to play Vanguard due to its promising multiplayer aspect. The game was launched with a huge arsenal of multiplayer maps, giving players the opportunity to experience battle diversity with friends. Moreover, players can even choose the combat intensity that they want to experience.

The diverse multiplayer maps and combat pacing may be the only reason why new fans may want to purchase Vanguard in 2023. It could be a great beginner's experience for those who haven't played a Call of Duty game before.

That said, the multiplayer modes have several gameplay design and performance issues, as reported by multiple players who recently played the game. Unfortunately, Vanguard isn't the only Call of Duty game to feature such hiccups.

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Zombies and Warzone

The highly anticipated Zombies mode made a return in Call of Duty Vanguard and quickly became popular amongst fans who bought the game, especially for those who came from the Black Ops Cold War background. However, most fans wouldn't care about a zombie mode where the primary focus is the FPS experience.

Call of Duty Vanguard was also integrated with Warzone in late 2021 to provide a simulated world of weaponry, maps, gameplay systems, security, and more. Although the integration was added to make things better, it didn't sit well with many Warzone Pacific fans who were unhappy with Vanguard's influence.

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Final verdict

In general, Call of Duty Vanguard isn't a must-pick this year. However, those looking to experience the classic WWII setting with over 25 multiplayer maps that encourage cut-throat competition and the evergreen Zombies mode can definitely grab this title.

That said, we definitely recommend waiting for a major sale event or a free trial period to try out the infamous game as the current $60 price tag is certainly not worth it.