'Call of Duty: Vanguard' and 'Black Ops Cold War' Didn’t Sell Well — What Is the Reason?

Call of Duty: Vanguard did not do as well as Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and Activision has now provided some insight into why.

According to Kotaku, the company blamed the dismal performance on the "lukewarm" reaction to 2021's Call of Duty: Vanguard after its most recent earnings failed projections by $300 million.

Screen Rant, however, noted that since the introduction of the first game in 2003, World War II had been the most popular time period in Call of Duty.

Why Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Did Not Sell?

Following the lack of success of Call of Duty: Vanguard, Screen Rant said it's probable that the series won't return to its iconic World War II setting for some time. According to Activision Blizzard's annual report for 2021, the firm believes that Vanguard's WWII setting didn't appeal to many players, resulting in lower than projected sales. The company said Call of Duty: Vanguard was not as innovative as the firm would have liked. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is said to fix both of these issues.

Despite this, it should be noted that Vanguard was still the best-selling game in the U.S. in 2021, with Black Ops Cold War coming in second.

Is There Any Other Reason for the Games' Poor Sales Other Than the WWII Setting?

Ethan Gach of Kotaku noted that Activision doesn't mention the game's poor planning and campaign setup. There's also no mention of the ongoing pandemic's impact on development at Sledgehammer Games. Most notably, Gath said the beleaguered publisher makes no mention of the fact that its marketing preparations for the game were thrown into disarray in July when claims of pervasive sexual harassment and discrimination at the company surfaced.

Activision Will Soon Launch Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

Following the approval of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition, a new Modern Warfare II teaser has appeared, and both companies may expect a decent comeback for Call of Duty with this remake of perhaps the series' most beloved game.

Screen Rant held that Activision Blizzard's acquisition by Microsoft comes at an odd time, following the Call of Duty publisher's worst year in terms of revenue and player satisfaction in quite some time. Players have been complaining about balancing concerns, as well as issues with hackers and cheats, in both Call of Duty and the battle royale spin-off Warzone.

Next Move of Activision

In other news, Gamespot reported that Microsoft is in the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard for $75 billion. The Call of Duty franchise is expected to continue to be released on PlayStation and, possibly, Nintendo Switch in the future. However, Activision is apparently not planning to release a new premium Call of Duty game in 2023, which would be a significant change for the series.

This is all taking place amid accusations of workplace concerns at Activision Blizzard, including allegations involving CEO Bobby Kotick, who is anticipated to leave the firm if/when the deal with Microsoft is completed. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the company, and its employees are attempting to form a union.