Call of Duty: Vanguard updates – Best reviews as COD is released TODAY plus Forza Horizon 5, PS5, Xbox & Fortnite latest
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THE release of Call of Duty Vanguard is here, with fans of the popular shoot 'em up series eager to get their hands on the brand new game.
The new COD game was released today (Friday November 5, 2021) at 1am GMT and sees the series returning to its World War 2 roots - bringing new maps, modes and features to the beloved franchise.
The much awaited blockbuster game is available to buy on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 PS5 and PC.
Pre-loads started on October 28 for console players, so if you've pre-ordered digitally, you can pre-load right now.
There are three different editions of the new Call of Duty game: Standard Edition, Cross-Gen Bundle, and the Ultimate Edition.
Read our Call of Duty live blog below for the latest news...
Reactive environments implemented
The reactive environments (or tactical destruction) will be implemented across all 20 Vanguard maps.
16 maps will be available at launch, with the rest to follow.
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases on Friday, November 5 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Here come back classic World at War maps
Call of Duty: Vanguard hits shelves this week and in anticipation of its launch, we sat down with Sledgehammer Games' studio GM Greg Palstra for the lowdown on the multiplayer.
"[Tactical destruction] is very deliberate in where we use it," explains Palstra. "And that’s because the Call of Duty maps are...finely honed."
"Every sight line we know what’s going on, and we spend a ton of time making sure that all of our main pathways and everything else are there perfect.
"So the reactive environments are used in very specific, dedicated ways to open up new lines of sight, or open up new pathways within the map."
All you need to know
- Pre-order Call of Duty: Vanguard at Amazon –
- Call of Duty: Vanguard pre-order guide – all editions explained
LAST CHANCE to pre-order Call of Duty: Vanguard for 15% less
CALL of Duty: Vanguard finally goes on general release tomorrow - but here's a good reason to pre-order in advance.
Boss Deals is offering a sweeping 15% discount on the latest CoD game, saving you as much as £9.43 - but this offer ends at midnight TONIGHT (Thursday November 4).
- CoD: Vanguard for PS5, £53.42 with discount code, eBay -
- CoD: Vanguard for PS4, £50.02 with discount code, eBay -
- CoD: Vanguard for Xbox Series X, £53.42 with discount code, eBay -
- CoD: Vanguard for Xbox One, £50.02 with discount code, eBay -
This offer runs across all versions of the game - you'll simply need to enter the code FESTIVE15 at the checkout to activate these price drops.
Call of Duty franchise release order
Here are the Call of Duty games in release order, alongside their launch dates.
- Call of Duty (2003)
- Call of Duty: Finest Hour (2004)
- Call of Duty 2 (2005)
- Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (2005)
- Call of Duty 3 (2006)
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
- Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016)
- Call of Duty: WWII (2017)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)
Explained: What is Call of Duty?
Call of Duty is one of the world’s most popular video game franchises published by Activision.
The original game, released in 2003, was set during the Second World War, and Vanguard is its the 18th title.
Although there is a Modern Warfare spin-off series set in the near modern day most of the CoD games are set in different theatres of war during the 1940s.
Vanguard is set at the end of the war with a story line about the emergence of the special forces as the world faces a new threat.
Vanguard file size
Call of Duty games are notoriously large when it comes to file size, causing quite the problem for console players with small hard drives.
However, Vanguard's install launch size is going to be slimmed down by 30% to 50% compared to previous instalments in the series. Although that only goes for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Activision has the approximate file sizes for install, pre-load, and space needed to play the game so you can start making room or invest in a new SSD now.
- PS5:
- 64.13 GB Download
- 89.84 GB Required Space
- PS4:
- 54.65 GB Download
- 93.12 GB Required Space
- Xbox Series X|S:
- 61 GB Download
- 61 GB Required Space
- Xbox One:
- 56.6 GB Download
- 56.6 GB Required Space
- PC: TBC
- PS5:
Call of Duty: Vanguard release date TOMORROW
CALL of Duty Vanguard is out this week – and sees the series returning to its World War 2 roots.
Vanguard is the long-awaited next entry to the Call of Duty series and brings new maps, modes and features to the beloved franchise.
Call of Duty: Warzone's Vanguard integration ushers in 'Pacific' Credit: Activision 
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases November 5 Credit: Activision All the latest Gaming tips and tricks
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Three different editions
There are three different editions of the new Call of Duty available to pre-order: Standard Edition, Cross-Gen Bundle, and the Ultimate Edition.
There are also differences between digital and physical editions of the game, just to make things even more complicated. We've laid out all the details for you below.
All three digital editions have the following pre-order bonuses included, so you're getting all of this no matter which edition you opt for:
- Early access to Call of Duty: Vanguard beta
- Night Raid Mastercraft Weapon Blueprint in Black Ops Cold War / Warzone (received for immediate use)
- Operator Arthur Kingsley in Black Ops Cold War / Warzone (received later)
- Frontline Weapons Pack
- “Shredder” Submachine Gun
- “Wildwood” Submachine Gun
- Opportunity to pre-load the game before launch
Where to pre-order Call of Duty: Vanguard (Continued...)
PS4
- – £64.99 / $59.99
- – £59.99 / $59.99
- – £59.99
- – £64.99
- – £59.99
- – $59.99
- – $59.99
- – $59.99
Xbox One
- – £64.99 / $59.99
- – £59.99 / $59.99
- – £59.99
- – £64.99
- – £59.99
- – $59.99
- – $59.99
- – $59.99
PC
- – £49.99 / $59.99
Where to pre-order Call of Duty: Vanguard
PS5
- – £69.99 / $69.99
- – £69.99 / $69.99
- – £69.99
- – £69.99
- – £69.99
- – $69.99
- – $69.99
- – $69.99
Xbox Series X|S
- – £69.99 / $69.99
- – £69.99 / $69.99
- – £69.99
- – £69.99
- – £69.99
- – $69.99
- – $69.99
- – $69.99
Call of Duty: Vanguard release date and start time
Call of Duty: Vanguard launches this Friday, November 5 across all platforms.
If you pre-order, you can pre-load the game and start playing on November 4 according to one tipster. The times for North America are listed below:
- 9pm PDT
- 10pm MDT
- 11pm CDT
- 12am EDT November 5
Pre-loads started on October 28 for console players, so if you’ve pre-ordered digitally, you can pre-load right now.
If you’re playing on PC, pre-load begins at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT on November 2.
Where to pre-order if you are a PC gamer
If you prefer your desktop to your console then the best place we have seen to get your hands on Vanguard is .
They are offering the game at a starting price of £49.99 ($59.99) and all three different editions of the game are on offer.
Where to pre-order on Xbox One
- – £64.99 / $59.99
- – £59.99 / $59.99
- – £59.99
- – £64.99
- – £59.99
- – $59.99
- – $59.99
- – $59.99
Where to pre-order on PS4
- – £64.99 / $59.99
- – £59.99 / $59.99
- – £59.99
- – £64.99
- – £59.99
- – $59.99
- – $59.99
- – $59.99
Where to pre-order Call of Duy on XBox X|S
- – £69.99 / $69.99
- – £69.99 / $69.99
- – £69.99
- – £69.99
- – £69.99
- – $69.99
- – $69.99
- – $69.99
Where to pre-order on PS5
- – £69.99 / $69.99
- – £69.99 / $69.99
- – £69.99
- – £69.99
- – £69.99
- – $69.99
- – $69.99
- – $69.9
What is Call of Duty?
Call of Duty is one of the world's most popular video game franchises published by Activision.
The original game, released in 2003, was set during the Second World War, and Vanguard is its the 18th title.
Although there is a Modern Warfare spin-off series set in the near modern day most of the CoD games are set in different theatres of war during the 1940s.
Vanguard is set at the end of the war with a story line about the emergence of the special forces as the world faces a new threat.
Gone gaming
Gamers have spent the equivalent of 78 DAYS playing video games over the past 18 months.
A study of 2,000 adults who regularly game found 39 per cent spent more time gaming during the last year and a half – playing an estimated 40 per cent more in a typical week than pre-pandemic.
An average of 17 hours and 48 minutes was spent by individuals on their console between Monday and Fridayduring the average week.
While weekends accounted for another six hours and 52 minutes – a total of more than 24 hours a week.
But despite the increase in gaming, 48 per cent like to stick to the same games, with the average gamer rotating through just three of their favourite titles.
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- Where can I buy Xbox Series X/S?
- Nintendo Switch OLED stock
- Can you play PS4 games on PS5?
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- Who created Fortnite?
- Most popular Roblox games
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- Best video games for 2021
- How to get free Robux
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Call of Duty: Vanguard PS5 exclusives
If you're playing Call of Duty: Vanguard on PS4 or PS5, there's some free, exclusive content headed your way.
PlayStation players who purchase the Battle Pass Bundle get a bonus five Tier Skips on top of the 20 that the bundle offers as default.
There's also seasonal combat packs, with the first one including a new Operator skin, Weapon Blueprint, and more.
Partying up with other PlayStation players will net you even more rewards. Party members get +25% bonus weapon XP.
Monthly double XP events running for 24 hours, and an additional two loadout slots are also being made available for players on the platform.
Call of Duty: Vanguard – what to expect
This year's entry in the series is Call of Duty: Vanguard, developed by Sledgehammer.
That name will be familiar to long-time fans of the franchise.
The studio is wholly owned by Activision, and is responsible for some of the most iconic Call of Duty games.
Sledgehammer developed, co-developed or assisted with:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
The title will take players back to WWII with a solo campaign following the birth of special forces units.
Multiplayer is introducing new features to the franchise, like destructible environments.
It'll also be integrated with Warzone, which is getting a new Pacific map for the occasion.
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases on Friday, November 5 so make sure you pre-order if you want to pre-load early and dive in at launch.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Cross-Gen Bundle (digital)
The cross-gen bundle is for console owners only, and offers more rewards and flexibility over the standard option:
- Call of Duty: Vanguard (PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S versions)
- Early access to Call of Duty: Vanguard Open Beta
- Night Raid Mastercraft Blueprint in Black Ops Cold War / Warzone (received for immediate use)
- Operator Arthur Kingsley in Black Ops Cold War / Warzone (received later)
- Frontline Weapons Pack containing two weapon blueprints (Digital exclusive)
- Opportunity to pre-load the game before launch
- 5 hours of Weapons 2XP for Vanguard and Warzone when the game launches
Call of Duty franchise release order
Here are the Call of Duty games in release order, alongside their launch dates.
To make things concise, we've not included the mobile games or various DLC (downloadable content) packs that have come out down the years.
- Call of Duty (2003)
- Call of Duty: Finest Hour (2004)
- Call of Duty 2 (2005)
- Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (2005)
- Call of Duty 3 (2006)
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
- Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016)
- Call of Duty: WWII (2017)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)
