COD Vanguard Sold 30 Million Units Despite Poor Reception

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Abdullah Waseem

At T4G, my task is to cover the latest news around the gaming globe ASAP and with the utmost precision. I adore all the games and respect all the devs behind the amazing games that we get all year. So, whether it’s a PC or a Console game, I got it all covered. 

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Call of Duty has proven itself immune to failure time and again. Last year’s Modern Warfare 3 bombed in the eyes of both fans and critics, yet it managed to reach the top sellers list globally.

According to a report, Call of Duty Vanguard found itself in a similar scenario. The game sold 30 million units in a matter of two years.

Why it matters: Most games fail to sell this many copies in their lifetime, but this is no major feat for Activision’s biggest cash cow.

This information comes from Brian Hong’s LinkedIn profile, who served as the Social Media Strategist for Activisn during Call of Duty Vanguard’s development.

Despite the 30 million sales, the game has very mixed reviews on Metacritic, falling on the lower end of the Call of Duty scale. There were several problems with Vanguard, with the biggest being its lack of innovation.

The game played like a World War 2 spin on the recent Modern Warfare entries. It was also noticeably buggy, with problems like Packet Burst plaguing the multiplayer experience for several months.

Moreover, Vanguard failed to deliver an authentic World War 2 experience. Apart from being bland, it eventually saw crossover characters like the Attack Titan from Attack on Titan running around, taking away from the immersion.

This number shows why Activision never skips a single year, choosing to put out poor games instead. Call of Duty Vanguard also highlights why Microsoft wanted to buy the publisher, with the company now promising Call of Duty titles on Game Pass.

If nothing else, this figure shows that Call of Duty is the biggest franchise in the shooter market. However, as long-term fans of the franchise, we don’t think Activision should settle.

The publisher needs to focus on improving its output’s quality to offer the best possible experience for millions of fans who buy new games each year without fail.

Abdullah Waseem

News Reporter

Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.