Crimsix reveals that competitive CoD: Vanguard may not have a third game mode

Crimisx next to Vanguard characterActivision / CWL

Competitive CoD legend Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter has shed some light on what will be Call of Duty: Vanguard’s third mode in professional matches, explaining that difficulties with Control mean it may not have one. 

Despite the criticism that the Call of Duty League and Activision has faced over the off-season, plenty of fans remain optimistic and excited ahead of the start of the CoD: Vanguard competitive season.

Typically, professional matches see three game modes played. The first is Hardpoint, constituting map 1 and map 4; the second is Search and Destroy, constituting map 2 and map 5; and the third often depends on the title.

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In Black Ops Cold War, map 3 was Control – the Treyarch-designed mode specifically conceived for competitive play. In Sledgehammer Games’ last title, WWII, it was Capture the Flag. In Vanguard, however, there may not be a third game mode at all.

A screenshot of Call of Duty Vanguard.Activision
CoD Vanguard may not have a third game mode in competitive play.

Since its launch, a number of pros have hit out at Vanguard’s competitive settings, lamenting the lack of Ranked Play and how many bugs plague its CDL Ruleset modes.

Regardless, it has a number of modes that could (and have) formed the third competitive game mode, like Domination.

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Speaking in a January 2 live stream, Crimsix actually suggested that issues with the implementation of Control mean that it may not have a third game mode at all.

“Any word on third game type?” he was asked by a viewer, before answering: “From what it’s sounding like, it sounds like we might do three SnDs. I don’t know. They [Sledgehammer] can’t seem to figure out Control.”

Search and Destroy is a universally popular game type, famed for its slower pace and opportunities for dramatic clutches. Regardless, many pros will likely be unhappy with the lack of a second respawn mode, with SnD generally considered the least consistent mode and the most likely to result in upsets.

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Sledgehammer could yet “figure out” Control but, with time winding down before the CDL’s third season kicks off, the uncertainty surrounding professional CoD seems only to be growing.