On March 8th, we heard from Call of Duty Zombies expert Eric Maynard about the franchise’s future. During that conversation, he mentioned that the next Call of Duty might be set in WWII. On March 22, the popular Call of Duty community—ModernWarzone—also stated that it would be set in WWII.
Since then, many other news outlets have reported on this rumor. Therefore, it would be safe to consider the leaks to be legitimate at this point. According to ModernWarzone, the game’s working title is Vanguard, though it is unknown what the final title will be. Additionally, the game may be set in an alternate timeline where WWII never ended. The report states that a source familiar with the project has said that the game’s cutscenes are set in the 1950s—at least five years after the historical end of WWII.
However, it is important to remember that the idea is simply a working theory. Of course, that theory does fit in with the ideas that Eric Maynard presented to us during his interview. The entirety of the franchise, it seems, is utilizing a plot element that comes from Call of Duty Zombies. That is to say, in Zombies, there is something called the Dark Aether—which has the ability to transport us to alternate universes. As Mr. Maynard explained it, it is because of the Dark Aether that zombies are now invading Verdansk in Call of Duty: Warzone. It could also be the Dark Aether that takes us to a universe where WWII didn’t end.
To further bolster this theory, the Dark Aether appears to be the catalyst for the nuking of Verdansk. Thanks to the now-deleted leaked audio of the end of Season 2 of Cold War, we know that Verdansk is going to suffer a nuclear explosion that will wipe out the map—taking us to a new place to fight. Of course, this wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for the zombies that appeared because of the Dark Aether. If what Mr. Maynard says holds true—and there is no reason to think that it won’t—the entire franchise will be subject to what happens with the Dark Aether and the Zombies storyline.
Apparently, that could mean entering an alternate universe where WWII never ended. With this plot device in place, the Call of Duty franchise could theoretically go wherever it wants to. Activision typically teases each year’s Call of Duty around April or May, so we may not need to wait long to see what the company has to say about all of this.
Opinion
There have been many questions about Call of Duty games and whether they should be depicting real-life conflicts in a video game. Those questions have only been amplified thanks to the upcoming release of Six Days in Fallujah—which uses one of the most controversial battles in the Iraq war as its backdrop. Assuming that these rumors are true, it appears that Call of Duty is finally leaving the realm of reality once and for all. With the addition of the Dark Aether, we have now entered a purely fictional world—except for real-world weapons in the game, and even those are starting to be phased out.
This change in Call of Duty’s tone marks the end of an era when games were based—at least in part—on real-world conflicts. Now, it seems, we have entered a phase where they have more of a comic-book feel to them. I’m not sure what that means for the franchise, but as a long-time fan (I’ve been playing since Big Red One), I’m interested to see where this all takes us.
Sources: ModernWarzone | GameRant | Call of Duty Fandom
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