Call of Duty: Vanguard has full Warzone integration — and a metaverse

Metaverses are all the rage, and Call of Duty: Warzone is the latest game to jump on the bandwagon. During its Call of Duty: Vanguard announcement stream on Thursday, Activision, Raven Software, and Sledgehammer Games said Vanguard’s arsenal of weapons and its Operators will be integrated into Warzone after the new game launches.

Raven Software is still Warzone’s lead developer, but the battle royale game will add content from Vanguard, which is being led by Sledgehammer, including a new map that likely has a World War II theme. Raven didn’t show more of this new map during the Vanguard announcement stream on Thursday.

Raven will also update the Warzone arsenal to include every weapon available in Vanguard, just like the studio did with Black Ops Cold War last year. One thing that remains to be seen, though, is how the weapons from Vanguard’s World War II setting will be balanced against the more modern armaments that make up Warzone’s current armory.

As for the larger story of Call of Duty: Warzone, Activision’s announcement stream was a little more hazy. But the developers did speak to a larger Warzone metaverse, which seems to bring together all three of the Warzone games (Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War, and Vanguard) into one fictional universe. This metaverse was already hinted at when one of Vanguard’s characters showed up in Warzone, almost a week ahead of the game’s official reveal.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is set to be released on Nov. 5, with Warzone integration coming sometime around the game’s release.

At the same time Vanguard is being shown for the first time, Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard faces wide-ranging allegations that it maintains a toxic workplace environment that is particularly hostile to women. A lawsuit, filed by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing in July, alleges the company pays women less, subjects them to sexual harassment, and that perpetrators are not meaningfully punished. You can read more about the allegations against Activision Blizzard in Polygon’s explainer.