Activision Blizzard has officially announced Call of Duty: Vanguard, 2021's iteration of the ever-popular annual Call of Duty franchise. As has become expected, Call of Duty: Vanguard will deliver a huge story-driven cinematic campaign, a unique and competitive multiplayer experience, and connectivity with battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone. Call of Duty: Vanguard does have one big surprise, however. It'll feature its own Zombies mode, developed by the Zombies team at Black Ops developer Treyarch Studios.

This new Zombies mode for Call of Duty: Vanguard is being described as a "franchise-first crossover," implying that Zombies mode remains a Treyarch Black Ops fixture but is crossing over to bolster Vanguard's diverse game modes. Early gameplay details are unfortunately scant, though Treyarch does confirm that it'll be a cooperative multiplayer Zombies mode just like it is on its other Call of Duty games. Zombies fans can expect a "detailed preview" of the game mode leading up to Halloween.

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One big question that Zombies players are likely pondering is just how this crossover game mode for Call of Duty: Vanguard will tie into the ongoing Zombies story. Zombies' Dark Aether storyline is at a climax and fans of the mode don't want to miss anything, so they'll definitely be curious how this crossover fits in. According to Treyarch, the Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies mode isn't necessarily a continuation of Dark Aether, but it does "intertwine." Fans can expect plenty of exciting lore, but it may only be indirectly related to the other Zombie modes.

Otherwise, the brief description of Zombies mode in Call of Duty: Vanguard promises a very traditional Zombies experience. It may seem like a ripe opportunity to mix up the Zombies experience or to try something new, since it's not a full Treyarch game. But that doesn't seem to be the goal. It seems like Activision Blizzard just sees Zombies as popular, so it wants to bring it into more Call of Duty games.

One other exciting aspect of Call of Duty: Vanguard that could interest Zombies players is that the game will feature full cross-play, cross-progression, and cross-gen support at launch. That means Zombies players will be able to group up with all of their friends, regardless of platform, or even swap platforms on the fly and not lose any progression.

Expect to hear a lot more about Call of Duty: Vanguard, including its Treyarch-developed Zombies mode, its Call of Duty: Warzone integration, and much more in the months to come. Don't be surprised if Activision Blizzard also holds some beta or preview events ahead of launch, either. Stay tuned.

Call of Duty: Vanguard releases November 5 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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