Call of Duty Vanguard being the best seller in the United States shows Activision's possible mistakes with their expectations

sportskeeda.com:

Call of Duty Vanguard is the last premium release of the series that happened towards the end of 2021. Developed by Sledgehammer Games, the game took players back to the World War 2 setting, with insignificant changes in scenes. Whatever expectations Activision had with the release, the sales figures have reportedly not been matched. Even though the end-of-sale figures for March 2022 show that the game has sold the most in the United States.

Call of Duty Vanguard's reception over social media has been slightly lukewarm compared to other games. According to an NPD report in the past, the sales were less than that of Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War. This report was around the start of 2022, so the game has sold for nearly three more months since that report. Based on the overall ranking, there might be a case where Activision may have set incorrect expectations about its latest release.

Earlier at the start of 2022, reliable industry insider Tom Henderson reported that Call of Duty Vanguard sales hadn't been satisfactory for the game's devs. He added that this could lead to the publishers revealing Call of Duty Modern Warfare II in the summer, followed by a slightly earlier release.

Since then, much has changed as Vanguard ended the last financial year on a high in the United States. Modern Warfare II has also been officially confirmed, with a reveal coming any day now. As things stand, an assumption could be made that the publishers might have gotten it wrong.

When one analyzes Activision's high expectations, it's quite easy to see why. Call of Duty Modern Warfare's release was followed by the Covid-19 pandemic that created lockdowns worldwide. This could have had a positive impact on its sales and Black Ops Cold War. As