Battlefield 2042 vs CoD Vanguard: Features, trailers, weapons & leaks

The thirst for a new first-person shooter is real in 2021, with the likes of Warzone, Apex Legends, and others arguably in need of some competition. If you’re in that camp yourself, lucky for you Battlefield 2042 and Call of Duty: Vanguard are not far away. 

EA DICE have not released a game in their established shooter series since 2018, with Battlefield 5. Since that time, they’ve dabbled in the battle royale genre with Firestorm, though it ultimately did not meet the expectations set by other industry leaders – with slow looting and a lack of regular updates.

Regular updates are something of a specialty for Activision in relation to Call of Duty, as seen with Warzone’s ever-changing weapon meta. Fans of the best-selling shooter franchise in history will be looking forward to seeing what’s in store this Holiday season, as the 2021 title – codenamed Vanguard – edges nearer.

As time goes on and more details are revealed, we’re going to keep everything in one place so you can decide which of these two will be your go-to shooter later this year. Will it be Battlefield 2042 with a futuristic feel, or CoD Vanguard which may take us back into the past?

Release dates

EA

Battlefield 2042 will release earlier than CoD Vanguard.

Battlefield 2042

EA DICE confirmed during the Xbox E3 2021 press conference that Battlefield 2042 will be released on October 22, 2021. 

Early access

Battlefield 2042 will be available in early access from October 15, 2021, for EA Play subscribers. Pre-orders will also come with beta access, for which dates are not yet set in stone.

CoD Vanguard

Activision have not yet confirmed when their Call of Duty 2021 game will be released, but it will likely come in November, 2021. 

Early access

The CoD Vanguard alpha and beta will be made available later in 2021, ahead of that November launch.

Prices

Activision / Treyarch

Unlike Warzone, these games are going to cost you.

In the absence of official pricing on CoD Vanguard, we have placed estimates below for just the standard edition.

How much is Battlefield 2042? Prices in UK/US/EU

• Battlefield 2042 Standard Edition: $59.99 (PS4, Xbox One & PC) $69.99 (PS5 & Xbox Series X/S)
• Battlefield 2042 Gold Edition: $89.99 (PC) $99.99 (Console)
• Battlefield 2042 Ultimate Edition: $109.99 (PC) $119,99 (Console)

How much is CoD Vanguard? Prices in UK/US/EU

• UK: £59.99
• US: $59.99
• EU: €59.99

Battlefield 2042 gameplay

Battlefield 2042 reveal trailer

The first time Battlefield 2042 was revealed was on June 9, 2021.

Battlefield 2042 gameplay trailer

Then, during the E3 press conference, EA revealed a second trailer, this time with gameplay.

CoD Vanguard gameplay

CoD Vanguard trailers and teasers

Unfortunately – and this is likely due to the difference in release dates – Activision have not officially announced the name of their 2021 game.

Therefore, we do not yet have any trailer footage of CoD Vanguard, putting Battlefield at an early advantage.

Crossplay?

At the time of writing, crossplay for Battlefield 2042 has not yet been confirmed. It’s safe to assume that Vanguard will, however, as the last two games have.

Warzone has been a game that’s crossed boundaries for CoD before, so we would expect that to continue. It remains to be seen if EA will make a similar step.

Battlefield 2042 maps

Electronic Arts

Battlefield 2042 has some insane maps, and they’re huge.

Multiple maps have been confirmed for Battlefield 2042’s All-Out Warfare mode:

• Kaleidoscope – Set in Sogdo, South Korea, forces here will close to control a quantum-powered disinformation hub after an attack threatens the global network.
• Manifest – Set in Brani Island, Singapore, players will see a strategic flashpoint emerge as global trade chokes this location which is vital for the American supply lines.
• Orbital – Set in Kourou, French Guiana. the battle here is over a rocket launch site as a controversial space launch becomes a race against time.
• Discarded – Set in Alang, India, here you see shipbreakers facing tidal extremes as factions fight to secure rogue nuclear assets.
• Renewal – Set in the Eastern Desert, Egypt, players will fight for a groundbreaking agriculture technology center in the Egyptian Desert.
• Hourglass – Set in Doha, Qatar, shifting sands and a lost shipping convoy tear a city center apart.
• Breakaway – Set in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, struggles over oil and gas pushes soldiers to the brink as industry clashes with nature and ice give way.

CoD Vanguard maps

Call of Duty Vanguard is expected to take players back to World War 2, based on a handful of leaks. This could see the return of some fan-favorite WW2 maps as well as a selection of new places to play.

Though, that setting hasn’t been rubbed stamped, so we will update this section once a trailer comes out.

Will they have a battle royale mode?

Activision / Treyarch

CoD’s latest battle royale, Warzone, was much more successful than Blackout.

So far, a battle royale mode has not been confirmed for Battlefield 2042 – but the same can’t be said about CoD Vanguard.

With the release of CoD Black Ops Cold War in 2020, Activision made the move to integrate their new multiplayer game into WZ, and have committed to doing similar in the future.

During May’s financial call, Rob Kostich, President of Activision, said: “Now as we look ahead for Warzone later this year, there will be some other really fun integration with the great work that Sledgehammer Game is leading to this year, new premium release”.

So, it looks like we can expect to see a new season packed with Vanguard weapons this holiday season.

Battlefield 2042 leaks

Battlefield players have the luxury of a game reveal and all the details that come with that, but there are still questions to be asked about the game. Not everything has been revealed yet, and clues could be found in leaks.

Game name

Previously, before official confirmation, the Battlefield 2042 game title was leaked – with internal discussions about a “near future” project. That has since turned out to be accurate.

A number of images were leaked before the game’s trailers were unveiled, too.

Leaked screenshots

EA

This was one of the leaked screenshots circulating, showing off an island map.

EA

The second leaked screenshot showed off, what we now know to be, Battlefield 2042 vehicle gameplay.

Leaked Battlefield 2042 weapons

Much of the official news we now know, following the game’s reveal and E3 2021, was actually included in a leak Reddit thread from 2020, posted by user FeyWatch.

In that thread, they said: “In the early build were three weapons with names but no sounds. The first weapon was the M4. The second was an SP40 and the third was an LMG called the G8, looked a lot like a big MP5 with a drum magazine if you ask me.”

Battlefield 2042 gameplay

For gameplay, it sounds like some changes are also in the works. “First, it was huge. Like really, really huge. I counted 10 flags that were different numbered than before: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, E1, E2. The new thing about this is, if you cap A1 for example, A2 is faster to capture,” they added.

“You also get more mission points if you cap both flags in a row rather than going all over the map without a clear frontline. The map itself looked like it is set on an island with the sea surrounding the island. The flag layout was interesting, each 1-flag was accessible on water while the 2-flag was more inside the island.”

CoD Vanguard leaks

In the absence of confirmed information on CoD Vanguard, fans have been left to scroll through endless leaks – and some sound more likely than others.

CoD Vanguard WW2 theme

One of the first leaks was from Victor_Z who claimed it would be a Sledgehammer Games project (now confirmed) and set in World War 2.

On top that, reliable leaker TheMW2Ghost claimed that in unseen footage, the user spotted a number of newsworthy details. First of all, they confirmed soldiers were wearing WW2 uniforms, which follows a string of leaks about the game’s setting and era.

CoD Vanguard map and weapons

Alongside that, after allegedly seeing clips of gameplay on an African Palace map, they also spotted some weapons and items.

• Kar98
• WW2 Trench shotgun
• Molotovs 

On top of that, they also hinted at a World War 2-style Headquarters mode will be coming back in CoD 2021. The difference being that this WW2 version was a virtual multiplayer lobby where players could move around in third-person, so slightly different from usual.

The more leaks that surface online regarding either Battlefield 2042 or CoD 2021, we’ll keep you updated.

For more Battlefield news check out @BravoINTEL and for Call of Duty, both @DexertoIntel and @CharlieINTEL.