By Peter “Synister” Jeffery, Gamer’s Outpost LLC

The ever-popular Call of Duty series has remained a staple pick for those looking to show off their quick reflexes and eagle-eyed aim. Whether you enjoy futuristic firefights or prefer the boots-on-the-ground approach, Call of Duty has delivered numerous experiences over the years.

From the brutal battlefields of WWII to present-day conflicts, the series has continually visited and revisited numerous theatres of war with each new entry.

With the next title on the horizon, let’s run through everything we know about CoD 2021.

As of writing, we don’t have an official release date set for Call of Duty 2021. However, that hasn’t stopped us from making an educated guess. By following similar CoD release title trends, it’s fair to speculate that the game will release in early to mid-November.

After all, the previous Call of Duty games all had November releases. Here’s a brief timeline of previous CoD release dates:

 Call of Duty 3: November 7, 2006

Modern Warfare: November 7, 2007

World at War: November 11, 2008

Modern Warfare 2: November 10, 2009

Black Ops: November 9, 2010

Modern Warfare 3: November 8, 2011

Black Ops II: November 13, 2012

Ghosts: November 5, 2013

Advanced Warfare: November 4, 2014

Black Ops III: November 6, 2015

Infinite Warfare: November 4, 2016

WWII: November 3, 2017

Black Ops 4: October 12, 2018

Black Ops Cold War: November 13, 2020

While Infinity Ward changed things up with the release of Modern Warfare on October 25, 2019, it is more than likely that CoD 2021 will keep to the usual November schedule.

CoD 2021: WW2 Vanguard leaks

As for Call of Duty 2021 leaks, there has been no footage, screenshots, or box art showcasing the new title. Of course, you can expect to see the usual photoshopped images, blurry box art, fake emails, and rickrolls that come with every new Call of Duty release.

Known leaker Victor_Z  posted tweets back in February that implied Sledgehammer Games (before confirmation from Activision) as the next developer, alongside the WWII art.

A commenter asked for clarification as to whether or not they meant it would be a WWIII title, but they replied, “WWII.”

While this is just a leak, Victor_Z does have some credibility. They previously stated that the Black Ops Cold War reveal trailer that showcased in August 2020 would include a 10 second MP preview – and lo and behold, it did.

CoD 2021: WW2 Vanguard rumors

Victor Z also previously suggested that the new setting for 2021’s CoD may take place in an alternate timeline where World War II never ended. In this fictional timeline, World War II continued beyond 1945.

“This entire game takes place in an alternate timeline where 1945 wasn’t the end of World War II,” sources allegedly told the prominent CoD leaker.

However, as per Eurogamer, this was disregarded as false, confirming with their sources that the game will likely be called “Vanguard” with a focus on a traditional World War II setting.

While Warzone players are currently getting to grips with the smaller changes of Verdansk ’84, many fans had hoped that Activision would have released a new map entirely.

Despite Sledgehammer Games reportedly taking us back to the WWII era with the release of Call of Duty Vanguard, the new tie-in Warzone map isn’t expected to be released until 2022.

According to leaks from CoD insider Tom Henderson, “we are 100% not getting a World War 2 Warzone map in 2021.” The leaker also noted that the released date would be “around April 2022,” and that it would be on a similar scale to Rebirth Island, with 40-60 players.

Call of Duty 2021 developer

Who exactly is in charge of developing the next installment? It’s now been confirmed that Sledgehammer Games will helm the development process of the next title, confirming many rumors previously heard within the community.

The last four CoD games were developed by the following studios:

Black Ops 4: Treyarch (2018)

Modern Warfare: Infinity Ward (2019)

Warzone: Infinity Ward / Raven Software (2020)

The developers behind CoD WWII have been missing from action since 2017, and it’s going to be awesome to see what they’ve got in store for us.

Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software were tasked with releasing the next CoD game in 2020, but disagreements between the two arose, leading Treyarch to take the lead role. Sledgehammer’s title was then developed into Black Ops Cold War.

Quite how much of the project was reworked into Cold War remains to be seen. Last year, Sledgehammer also reportedly hired 150 new staff and stated that they were actively working on multiple projects

Combine this with the fact that Infinity Ward has only just wrapped up development on Modern Warfare and Treyarch is still busy working on content for Black Ops Cold War – and you have a pretty strong case.

CoD 2021 Modern Warfare rumors

There have been a lot of rumors surrounding Call of Duty 2021, with many fans speculating that Sledgehammer could be making another entry in the Advanced Warfare series. However, renowned Call of Duty leaker, Tom Henderson believes that if that is the case, the game will be a prequel.

“Warzone is going to have a Sledgehammer Games integration,” says Henderson. The whole purpose of Warzone is to convert free-to-play players into paid players by purchasing whichever title is integrated at the time. I just can’t see an EM1 laser rifle being in Warzone, it just doesn’t make sense to me.”

This would be a jarring experience, particularly given Warzone’s arsenal currently utilizes real-world weaponry. Having highly futuristic guns could also upset the current balance of the game as well, an area Activision is constantly aiming to control.

Maybe we could see a Call of Duty WWII title, possibly like WWII but maybe a prequel or sequel. It would make a lot more sense for the weapons to be integrated into Warzone. It could be a modern or even a future title, but not set too far into the future where it wouldn’t make sense for the Warzone integration.

While Henderson’s leaks have been correct in the past, these are just rumors and should be treated lightly.

There you have it, everything we know about CoD 2021. Whether the rumors and leaks surrounding Call of Duty Vanguard are true remains to be seen.