Call of Duty: Vanguard Flopped Due to Franchise Fatigue, Lack of Innovation, and Stiff Competition

As an avid COD player and content creator, I was shocked by Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s underwhelming reception. Vanguard sold 36% fewer copies than its record-breaking predecessor Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, marking the worst US launch sales for a core COD title since 2014.

Why Did Vanguard Flop?

Vanguard failed to resonate with players for three core reasons:

1. Franchise fatigue
2. A glaring lack of innovation
3. Increasing competition within the oversaturated FPS genre

Gamers and critics widely viewed Vanguard as an uninspired retread rather than a must-have entry in the storied shooter franchise. Let‘s break down the major factors behind Vanguard‘s catastrophic flop.

Franchise Fatigue: Quantifying COD Burnout

The Call of Duty franchise rakes in billions annually across game sales, DLC packs, and Warzone microtransactions. But ever since Battlefield dethroned COD as the best-selling FPS in 2011, Activision has struggled to maintain interest in their hallmark military shooter franchise.

Annualized releases inevitably breed player fatigue. Analyzing recent sales figures illustrates the extent of COD burnout:

As you can see, sales tapered off significantly in 2016-17 before rebounding with 2019‘s Modern Warfare reboot.

Vanguard sold an estimated 15 million copies in 2022 – less than half of its predecessor. Furthermore, the $70 price tag could not offset disappointing retention. According to SteamCharts, the average Vanguard player count one month post-launch was 37k – far below Cold War‘s average of 92k over the same period.

Clearly illustrating the "been there, done that" reception of yet another COD set in World War 2.

Lack of Innovation: Vanguard Fails to Move the Needle

Beyond rehashed settings and eras, Vanguard brought embarrassingly few innovations to the table:

• No major graphical overhaul: Despite next-gen console support, destruction physics, graphics, animations were all on par with previous entries rather than raising the bar
• Recycled multiplayer modes: Vanguard shipped with the standard Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint – no new modes to freshen up stale mechanics
• Warzone integration: Built on the Modern Warfare (2019) engine rather than offering engine improvements
• Glitches galore: From animation bugs to broken spawn points, Vanguard was painfully underpolished well after launch

For a series synonymous with pioneering FPS gameplay, Call of Duty has edged dangerously close to complacency in recent years. Vanguard felt less like a sequel and more like an expensive DLC pack for Modern Warfare (2019).

The FPS Genre is More Crowded Than Ever

Vanguard launched alongside several high-profile shooters competing for attention and holiday season sales:

• Battlefield 2042: Despite its own troubled launch, anticipation for a new Battlefield with 128-player maps captured PC/console gamers
• Halo Infinite: The iconic Xbox shooter went free-to-play to great success
• Apex Legends: Recently updated with a new map and legend in Season 11

Franchise loyalty only goes so far; first-person shooter fans have more quality options than ever before. Combined with Call of Duty predictability, millions made the calculated decision to spend their money elsewhere in the 2021 holiday season.

And Warzone remains popular as ever thanks to frequent content updates and a lower barrier to entry as a F2P title.

Call of Duty once defined first-person shooters, but in sticking too close to proven formulas while rivals innovate, Activision has lost that perch. Vanguard‘s failure boils down to complacency – an unwillingness to shake up the standard COD recipe gamers know inside and out.

My advice to developers hoping to rescue this flagship franchise:

• Experiment with bold new settings/time periods: Avoid sequel fatigue by expanding beyond the well-trod 20th century
• Overhaul game engines to meet modern graphical standards: Leverage new hardware capabilities for destructible environments, better physics, seamless loading, and more
• Innovate multiplayer with new modes, progression systems, mechanics
• Double down on quality assurance: Release polish over rushed annual cash grabs

Vanguard had the dubious honor of being the worst-received Call of Duty in over a decade. Have they burned through too much gamer goodwill to salvage moving forward? Much hinges on this Fall‘s sequel. But with Warzone‘s popularity papers over their core multiplayer shortcomings, Activision shows little incentive to take risks.

What disappointed you about Vanguard and what would you change? Which FPS occupied your gaming hours instead? Sound off below!