History is still boring, or at least that is what Activision Blizzard is implying when it comes to why Call of Duty: Vanguard isn't selling as well as they had hoped.
They blamed the dismal performance on the lackluster reaction to 2021's Call of Duty: Vanguard after its most recent earnings failed projections by $300 million. The game's narrative was a time-hopping, globe-trotting jumble that followed a special operations task force as it attempted to foil secret Nazi conspiracies near the end of WWII.
Here is what they wrote regarding the slump in sales during their annual report from April 30th:
"While Call of Duty remains one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time, our 2021 premium release didn’t meet our expectations, we believe primarily due to our own execution, The game’s World War II setting didn’t resonate with some of our community and we didn’t deliver as much innovation in the premium game as we would have liked."
Their usual fan base does not agree 100% with that statement. Many players thought the plot was too short, seasonal content was not released on schedule, or it's Zombie setting was not widely accepted well. Others also complain that they release a new game of this franchise every year and people get bored with a franchise that never allows for growth. You pair those issues with a world wide pandemic and personal issues going public, you can see where this game release turned messy.
It should be noted that the game was still a best-seller, just not to the extent that Activision would have hoped for. To win them back, the publisher is promising "the most ambitious strategy in Call of Duty history" in the form of Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2, a reboot of a sequel to a spin-off, at least until the anticipated $69 billion agreement with Microsoft closes. Activision is counting on a "return to the Modern Warfare setting, which delivered our most successful Call of Duty release ever" to boost sales.
