Call of Duty 2021 reportedly returning to World War 2

To the past with a blast.

Activision's Call of Duty franchise is once again going to be set during the Second World War.

That's according to Modern Warzone - and confirmed by Eurogamer - which reports that the Sledgehammer-developed shooter is codenamed Vanguard. Apparently, this will be the title's final name, too.

Modern Warzone's reports suggest that the game is set in an alternate universe where World War 2 continued beyond 1945 and is set in the 1950s, but Eurogamer's reporting says this detail isn't correct. To the surprise of literally no-one, Activision confirmed that a new premium Call of Duty was launching at the end of 2021, as per usual, earlier this year.

The Call of Duty franchise was initially set during the Second World War, with the first three entries in the series taking place during this conflict. The shooter returned to World War 2 for 2017's Call of Duty: WW2, which was also developed by Sledgehammer Games, with subsequent entries having a more modern setting, though last year's Black Ops Cold War took the franchise back to the paranoia-fuelled 80s for some retro fun.

EA is also launching an entry in rival shooter franchise Battlefield later this year, drafting Criterion to help out series creative DICE for Battlefield 6.

In the 12 months leading up to December 2020, Activision said that Call of Duty made $3 billion in revenue. This is partly off the back of strong sales of 2019's Modern Warfare reboot, but also in large part due to the free-to-play battle royale mode, Warzone, which debuted in March 2020.