Call of Duty 2021 is coming later this year, though beyond that, gamers know truly little about the latest entry in the series. Several reports have stated that the game will have a traditional World War 2 setting, and while Call of Duty attempting alternate history would have been more interesting, a return to the era is seeming increasingly likely. While this will surely disappoint some players, as World War 2 has been covered just as heavily by video games as it has by movies, there are still some things that could be done to make the game stand out.

Rumored developer Sledgehammer Games has a lot to prove with Call of Duty 2021, as its previous solo outings proved divisive with fans. There is a lot that can be done to make fans happy, ranging from a focus on 6v6 content to an interesting co-op game mode. Though nothing is officially confirmed about the game, as Activision has been tight-lipped regarding the 2021 release, there is no harm in speculating about what the best possible version of this year’s Call of Duty would look like.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s launch was anything but smooth, with Treyarch struggling due to both COVID-19 and a rushed development. The game was extremely buggy at launch, with consistent crashes seen as players attempted to enjoy the game. Several bugs were seen, ranging from weapon challenges not working to a number of multiplayer exploits. To this day, gamers are still encountering small issues like missing text in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, with split-screen play remaining broken half a year later. Features are also slowly being added to the game that many feel should have been there at launch, adding to the controversy.

Above all else, Activision and Sledgehammer Games need to ensure that similar problems are not seen with Call of Duty 2021. The game needs to live up to the standard set by the other games in the series, with an immense level of polish and lack of bugs from day one. Further, it needs to be a finished game as soon as it launches, with the full lineup of features available from the get-go. If the game runs correctly and all its content works as intended when it releases later this year, it will already be starting in a better place than its predecessor. From League play to a working split-screen mode, there is plenty that needs to be available to gamers from the start.

Going hand-in-hand with the buggy release state of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was its forced integration with Call of Duty: Warzone. While Activision has said that it has learned a lot from the first attempt at integrating the new content into the battle royale game, it needs to prove that it has when the next Call of Duty launches. For the first few months after the integration took place, Call of Duty: Warzone was in a rough state, as the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War guns were completely unbalanced. Further, with the game already full of content, integrating even more guns and Operators into the mix could overwhelm players and cause issues. If Call of Duty 2021 wants to satisfy fans, not hurting the immensely popular Call of Duty: Warzone would be wise.

Another casualty of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s rushed development is the map lineup. Far smaller than the usual lineup, gamers only had eight 6v6 maps to enjoy on launch. With past Call of Duty games having up to 14 different 6v6 locations offered from day one, this low map count was a bit of a shock — and it saw the game growing stale quickly. While there were a few large-scale Fireteam maps available as well, this did not satisfy longtime Call of Duty players, as many were not interested in the mode. After all, Call of Duty has been defined by its 6v6 action, and seeing it take a backseat was frustrating for many.

Sledgehammer Games should use Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s low map count as an example of something to avoid, with a large focus being placed on 6v6 content. Several small maps should be available on day one, and 2-3 should be dropped in every post-launch Season. With Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Season 2 criticized for only having adding one 6v6 map to the pool, and Season 3 being praised for having multiple, the Call of Duty community has made it clear what content it wants to see most. While a large-scale mode like Fireteam or Ground War is welcome, and the small-scale Gunfight mode has proven to be a hit with fans, nothing should take away from 6v6 play.

Despite all the bugs and the large content drought that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fans have gone through, the issue of skill-based matchmaking remains the most controversial. While Call of Duty 2021 will likely have SBMM, it should keep it to a minimum, presenting a scaled-back version of the system when compared to the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War version. With many finding the game overly fair to the point of it being unfun, and skilled players being punished for their abilities, keeping SBMM to a minimum would be a huge way to please a large part of the Call of Duty player base. While it should still exist in competitive play, casual matches do not need the same systems in place.

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As of now, it remains unclear if Call of Duty 2021 will have Zombies. On one hand, Sledgehammer Games has included the Survival mode in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty: WW2, both of its previous titles. On the other hand, a standalone Zombies game is rumored to be in development, and Activision may not want to oversaturate fans on Zombies-related content. Still, the return to a World War 2 setting could allow Sledgehammer Games to pick up right where it left off with Call of Duty: WW2’s Nazi Zombies mode.

While Treyarch’s Zombies modes remain unmatched, as the developer has perfected its own creation, Call of Duty: WW2 was the closest a non-Treyarch Zombies mode has been to working. Offering smart systems like casual easter eggs and armor alongside trademark features like Wonder Weapons, the mode worked well enough. It also featured a fair bit of content, launching with a small and large Survival map. The horror-themed Zombie designs were terrifying, remaining the highlight of the mode due to their unique looks. With a fair bit going for it and the same setting supposedly set to return, allowing World War 2-era resources to be used again, seeing Nazi Zombies getting a second chance at life would not be terrible.

At the same time, perhaps Sledgehammer Games could benefit from giving co-op fans something unique in Call of Duty 2021. Looking to Call of Duty: Ghosts’ forgotten Extinction mode as an example, introducing something other than Zombies for players to battle against could be a lot of fun. While this would be challenging to develop, the concept of a fresh PvE mode could certainly be more appealing than another lackluster attempt at Zombies. Providing a focus on replayable missions instead of round-based Survival could be interesting as well, and some new monster or alien race could be used as an adversary. While Sledgehammer Games could nail Nazi Zombies on its second go, it could also impress with a more original co-op offering — attracting a new audience to Call of Duty in the process.

Call of Duty 2021 is in development for unspecified platforms.

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