Call of Duty: Vanguard has finally been revealed after months of leaks and rumors/. Now that it has been officially announced, fans know the game is returning to World War 2 with a full campaign, multiplayer mode, Call of Duty: Warzone integration, and a Zombies mode developed by Treyarch. With Call of Duty: Vanguard's full announcement, many shooter fans have begun looking at how it measures up to its big competitor this fall, Battlefield 2042.
Battlefield and Call of Duty have a storied history of competition, with both of the games frequently releasing at the start of the holiday season and battling it out for shooter supremacy. Battlefield became synonymous with large-scale conflicts filled with destruction and vehicles, while Call of Duty is better known for its fast-paced gameplay, handling, and bombastic campaigns. But with Call of Duty: Vanguard's reveal trailer now released and developer Sledgehammer Games letting players know some of what they can expect, many are wondering how its multiplayer stacks up against what is known so far about Battlefield 2042.
RELATED: Call of Duty: Vanguard Confirmed for Gamescom 2021
Comparing Call of Duty: Vanguard's Main Multiplayer Modes to Battlefield 2042's
Sledgehammer Games has not revealed anything regarding the multiplayer modes that will be in Call of Duty: Vanguard yet, but it seems safe to assume the game will feature standard modes that have defined the series' multiplayer experiences. This means that the game will very likely feature modes like Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, and Kill Confirmed across Call of Duty: Vanguard's 20 launch maps. Battlefield 2042's main multiplayer focuses on just two modes, the point capture Conquest and attack-and-defend Breakthrough, that can be played out over seven launch maps.
However, those seven maps are much larger than maps present in Call of Duty, with each map being segregated into different sectors that teams fight over, but are big enough to accommodate 128 players at a time. This makes it possible for players to stay entirely in one sector of the map for the duration of a match, which could lead to a feeling of more map variety in Battlefield 2042 than there actually is. However, Call of Duty: Vanguard seems to be offering more variety to players with a multitude more modes and maps, whereas Battlefield 2042 offers players an experience that they can't find in other games.
Comparing Call of Duty: Vanguard's Champion Hill to Battlefield 2042's Leaked Hazard Zone
Not very much is known about Champion Hill other than a brief description from Sledgehammer, while information about Hazard Zone is only known by leaks found by dataminers. However, both modes seem to be offering a squad-focused mode with high-stake encounters. Champion Hill offers this by being the next evolution of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's Gunfight mode that sees multiple teams facing off to see which one ends up being the last team standing. Hazard Zone, on the other hand, is reportedly a take on the multiplayer experiences offered by games such as Escape From Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown that sees players enter a map filled with AI enemies and teams of other players with only one life to gather loot and complete objectives.
RELATED: Call of Duty: Vanguard Using Modern Warfare Engine for 'Photo Realistic' World
Even with how little is known about the two modes it seems, they both are trying to offer a similar experience of intense squad battles with high stakes. However, the two modes are emblematic of the experiences that each game aims to provide. Champion Hill offers a much faster experience for Call of Duty: Vanguard players, while Hazard Zone offers a bigger experience that will likely have more downtime and the threat of players losing their looted gear when they die. Both Call of Duty: Vanguard's Champion Hill and Battlefield 2042's Hazard Zone sound like fun and great new ways to play the games, so it will mostly be up to player taste for which seems more enticing.
Comparing Call of Duty: Vanguard's Other Modes to Battlefield 2042's Portal
Both games also offer less traditional PvP multiplayer experiences. Call of Duty: Vanguard has a new Zombies mode that is guest developed by Treyarch Studios. It is the first time that a Treyarch has guest-developed a zombies mode, and it will assumedly feature the mode's four-player co-op action that pits fans against an endless horde of the undead. Battlefield 2042's Portal modde, on the other hand, allows players to make custom game modes using assets and maps from Battlefield 2042, Battlefield Bad Company, Battlefield 1942, and Battlefield 3. The mode then allows players to open servers with those custom game modes to play with others and earn experience toward their in-game rank and battle pass.
Call of Duty's Zombies mode has a massive community that is likely very excited to see Treyarch developing two entries in a row. It remains to be seen just how popular Battlefield 2042's Portal mode will be, but it does have the potential to create a large sub-community within Battlefield on its own. Early impressions of Portal in Battlefield 2042 are positive, and the amount of freedom it gives players could lead to some truly great modes being built by players.
However, which game players decide to go with is largely up to personal preference. Both Call of Duty: Vanguard and Battlefield 2042 have a lot to offer fans of their respective series, and will be exciting new entries when they release. Each game also delivers a particular experience, so players are able to choose which they would prefer to have. Thankfully, both Battlefield 2042 and Call of Duty: Vanguard have betas coming up so players can try them out and decide which they want to spend their money on.
Call of Duty: Vanguard launches November 5 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE: Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Leaked Map Count Would Be A Huge Step Up From Recent Games