As part of Activision Blizzard's attempt to stave off the inevitable decline in the player count of Call of Duty: Vanguard, its multiplayer and Zombies content are going free-to-play - again.
The one-week free access period of Vanguard starts today, July 20, and will run through July 26. Similar to the May free trial, players can access all of Vanguard's features. This includes every map and game mode like Vanguard's fourth season of content that just dropped last month.
🧟♂️ Battle the living dead
📈 Level up your weapons and OperatorPlay the full Vanguard Multiplayer and Zombies experience for a full week for 🆓 from July 20 through July 26. Read the #CODBlog for all the details ➡️ https://t.co/LJOyWOZhxj pic.twitter.com/PndERKzV98
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) July 19, 2022
If nothing else, Activision is using the free access periods of Vanguard to keep Call of Duty relevant until the release of Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 later this year. That Activision has made all of Vanguard's content available for free twice now is a sign that it's only going to do more.
You can expect to see more free weeks and weekends in the next month or two as Activision is likely using this opportunity to refine ricochet.
@xfire.com You can play Call of Duty Vanguard multiplayer for free this week #CallofDuty #CallofDutyVanguard #COD #CODmultiplayer #ActivisionBlizzard ♬ original sound - Xfire.com
We're curious to find out if Activision's free-play periods for Vanguard have brought players back. Vanguard's player count has been on a steady decline post-launch despite topping sales charts last year. Sledgehammer Games' latest Call of Duty title did not sell as well as 2020's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. To make matters worse, Vanguard is the first Call of Duty game to be outsold. This leaves the series in a troubling position just right before the release of Modern Warfare 2.
Will Infinity Ward's return at the helm be enough to reinvigorate interest in Activision's marquee FPS shooter? The only way to know is to wait for October.
