Disclosure: Miranda Sanchez has a personal friendship with a Call of Duty: Vanguard narrative designer, but has not discussed the game.

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

Sledgehammer is back up to bat for the next iteration of Call of Duty, and it's taking us once again to World War II. This time, though, they're trying not only a more global approach but also spinning the story with a bit of historical fiction. Here's what Sledgehammer revealed about Call of Duty: Vanguard's campaign along with a few scant details about multiplayer — we'll have to wait for another event for a full multiplayer reveal.

If you're looking for details about other Call of Duty modes, be sure to read the news about how Treyarch will be leading Vanguard's Zombies mode and how Vanguard impacts Warzone.

Call of Duty: Vanguard Campaign Details

Vanguard wants to be both true to history by taking heavy inspirations from real people and events, but also wants to ask "what if?" It does so through Project Phoenix, a fictional operation schemed up by the remaining members of the Nazi party trying to find a successor to Hitler after the fall of Berlin. A special forces group of four individuals from the Allied powers is put together to combat the plot.

From what we've seen of Vanguard, it's looking like the story will primarily follow Sgt. Arthur Kingsley, the leader of the squad, or at least kick off with him in some way. We'll also get time with each of the other three members on their corresponding war fronts (Eastern Front, Western Front, Pacific, and North Africa) where they each prove their bravery and capabilities before being tapped for this special unit.

Here's what we know about the four protagonists:

• Sgt. Arthur Kingsley (Western Front) is a member of the 9th Parachute Battalion in the British army. His character is based on Sidney Cornell, a paratrooper who played a part in Operation Tonga. For Kingsley, Campaign Creative Director David Swenson explained he has to take charge and successfully help complete the operation in order to make a particular beach safe for D-Day the next morning. Kingsley is voiced by Chike Okonkwo and written by Tochi Onyebuchi.
• Lt. Polina Petrova (Eastern Front) is a member of the Soviet Union's 138th Rifle Division inspired by Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a sniper nicknamed Lady Death. Petrova's story starts in her home of Stalingrad where she worked as a nurse and is eventually becomes an ace sniper when her home is invaded by the Germans.
• Cpt. Wade Jackson (Pacific Front) is a pilot of Scouting Squadron Six of the United States Navy. Inspired by the actions of Vernon "Mike" Micheel, Jackson fights in the Pacific Battle of Midway before being shot down over the Solomon Islands and must adapt to fighting on the ground with a team.
• 2nd lt. Lucas Riggs (North Africa) is an Australian infantryman in the 20th Battalion. He's inspired by Charles Upham and the Rats of Tobruk. Riggs' fights as one of these Rats of Tobruk in North Africa to take out opposing forces there.

In the gameplay shown of Sgt. Arthur Kingsley's campaign mission Operation Tonga, the "blockbuster" look Game Director Josh Bridge said they're going for is especially apparent. Kingsley starts this mission by falling from the sky and has to navigate the dark warzone unarmed. Airborne fights rage on as Kinglsey sneaks around enemy territory, has to dig through ammo piles for just the right bullets, and eliminates enemies in tense, close-quarter combat.

Call of Duty: Vanguard Multiplayer Announcements

Sledgehammer revealed light but important multiplayer details. Call of Duty: Vanguard will have 20 multiplayer maps at launch that are set across the Western, Eastern, Pacific, and North African fronts. 16 are 6v6 maps and four are 2v2. Multiplayer Creative Director Greg Reisdorf described the maps as "smaller, tighter maps."

As far as customization goes, Sledgehammer is bringing back Gunsmith and adding custom ballistics and ammo types. Mounted weapons can also be moved across surfaces and blind fiver over cover and other elements in the maps. Multiplayer will also have "reactive gameplay environments," or breakable elements in the map like boards and other weak structures to open new paths and vantage points.

Vanguard is also introducing a search option that works across all maps and modes and can make your multiplayer more or less hectic called Combat Pacing. This tool changes the player count through these three options:

• Tactical - Fewer players for slower gameplay
• Standard - 6v6 traditional player count
• Blitz - More players for chaotic, fast gameplay

Then, finally, we learned a little bit about a new mode called Champion Hill. Reisdorf described Champion Hill mode as "a mix of battle royale plus gunfight with progression happening between each of the rounds." Champion Hill is played across four maps. Players can enter Champion Hill solo, in a duo, or in a trio squad.

More information on multiplayer is going to be revealed at a later time. Until then, be sure to check out our rewind of the Call of Duty: Vanguard reveal trailer. Call of Duty: Vanguard will be out on November 5, 2021 for PC, Xbox consoles, and PlayStation consoles.

Miranda Sanchez is the executive editor of guides at IGN.

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

Sledgehammer Games and Activision have already announced the new Call of Duty: Vanguard. But in a series of follow-up announcements, Activision has shared more about the wider Call of Duty universe, including a new Zombies mode from Treyarch.

As announced, Call of Duty: Vanguard is going back to World War 2 in a narrative-focused adventure following an early special forces team.

Taking a cue from Sledgehammer, Treyarch will also rewind the clock in Zombies and tell a new story about the birth of Zombies. This new mode will tie directly into the events of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies

While details are being kept close to the chest, you can expect to fight wave after wave of terrifying new zombies while Treyarch continues the overarching Zombies storyline that now runs through several different Call of Duty games.

Zombies is just one of the new modes coming with Call of Duty: Vanguard. Along with a new single-player adventure that stars four distinct soldiers from all across World War 2 who come together to form a new special forces team, Vanguard will of course introduce a new multiplayer mode.

There will be 20 multiplayer maps at launch in the Western, Eastern, Pacific, and North African fronts. Check out our full rundown of the new single-player and multiplayer modes here and check out our Call of Duty: Vanguard Rewind Theater for more hidden details.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

Developed by Sledgehammer, Call of Duty will return once more to World War 2. This time, Sledgehammer is aiming for a narrative-focused adventure centered on a fictional special-ops team comprising members from across all the Allied Nations.

In addition, there will of course be a new multiplayer mode also from Sledgehammer as well as a new Zombies mode from Treyarch and a new Warzone map from Raven Studios.

The time between the Call of Duty: Vanguard announcement and release is pretty short. Activision has seemingly begun announcing its Call of Duty games later in August it seems. Last year’s Black Ops Cold War was announced around August as well, but 2019’s Modern Warfare was revealed earlier in May.

There’s also the matter of the ongoing lawsuit over Gender Discrimination that Activision Blizzard is currently embroiled in. The lawsuit, which alleges systemic discrimination against women employees across the company, has overshadowed the company’s game announcements.

Even while revealing Call of Duty: Vanguard, Sledgehammer developers began their press presentation by acknowledging the lawsuit and affirming a stance against harassment of all kinds, though it would be weird if the developers said otherwise.

Nevertheless, you can read IGN’s full rundown of the new single-player and multiplayer modes here and check out our Call of Duty: Vanguard Rewind Theater for more hidden details.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

With the announcement of a new Call of Duty game, Activision won’t stop working on Warzone. In fact, the company revealed that Raven Studios has been leading development on a new Call of Duty: Warzone map coming later this year.

Alongside the new map, Warzone will finally receive a “multi-faceted, new anti-cheat system” that will be implemented throughout Warzone.

Furthermore, the new Warzone map will be built using the same tech as Vanguard, allowing for seamless weapon and operator integration that will connect Vanguard, Black Ops Cold War, and Modern Warfare.

Call of Duty: Warzone has a main map called Verdansk '84 that's been changed and updated as seasons progress and new storylines are introduced. But Raven will be introducing a wholly new map when Vanguard is released later this year. Early reports say this new map is one of the largest the studio has ever created, though details were not shared during the press event.

The new Anti-Cheat features have also been a long time coming. Activision has regularly had to issue mass bans to combat cheating, so improvements that will prevent cheaters from joining matches are highly welcomed.

With Raven Studios developing a new Warzone map, Treyarch handling Zombies, and Sledgehammer handline this year’s main game, Activision is utilizing all of its various studios on Call of Duty this year.

Check out our full rundown of the new single-player and multiplayer modes here and check out our Call of Duty: Vanguard Rewind Theater for more hidden details.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Netflix has signed a multi-year overall deal with The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich.

The streaming giant announced on Thursday that it has entered into a new creative partnership with Schmidt Hissrich that will see her write and produce scripted series content and other creative projects for the platform, while also continuing to serve as showrunner and executive producer on Netflix's hit series The Witcher.

"I am so thrilled to have found my home at Netflix, and can't wait to continue what's been an incredibly fulfilling creative partnership," Schmidt Hissrich said in a statement. "While my heart belongs to The Witcher Franchise, I equally look forward to digging in on other exciting projects for their global audience in the years to come."

Before The Witcher, Schmidt Hissrich served as a co-executive producer on two Marvel shows for Netflix, 2017's The Defenders, and Daredevil, which ran for a total of three seasons from 2015-2018. She also worked as a co-executive producer on the Starz show, Power, a New York-based drama starring Omari Hardwick.

"Lauren is a formidable talent with a strong creative vision and diverse skill-set that she brings to every project she touches," added Bela Bajaria, Netflix's head of global TV. "Lauren's work on The Witcher has firmly established her as both a preeminent creator and showrunner, and we're excited to continue working with her on future projects."

Schmidt Hissrich is currently assigned to multiple projects in the world of The Witcher, including The Witcher Season 2, debuting on Netflix on December 17, as well as the upcoming prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin and anime series The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, which just unveiled seven new character posters ahead of its premiere this month.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

In the early 2010s, rumors circulated that Apple may have been working on an iPhone nano. While not much concrete evidence surface on Apple's front, a new email from Steve Jobs shows that Apple was, at one point, working on this affordable and extremely tiny phone.

Spotted first by The Verge, the email in question was sent from the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, which outlines the meeting agenda for a 2011 corporate strategy presentation. Jobs notes at the end of the outline that reads "iPhone nano plan" with accompanying sub-bullets such as one that reads "cost goal" and that former Apple design chief Jony Ive was expected to show off a "model (and/or renderings)" during the meeting.

In the same email, Jobs mentions under the "2011 Strategy" bullet that implies Apple was planning to create a "low cost iPhone model based on iPod touch to replace [iPhone] 3GS." Unfortunately, it is not specified whether or not the late Apple co-founder referred to the iPhone nano or a completely different device.

By the early 2010s, the iPod Nano was still one of Apple's forefront consumer products. In September of that year, Apple announced and released the sixth-generation iPod Nano, which offered a touch screen but ditched the click wheel and had no camera or video playback. Apple would discontinue its portable media player in July 2017 -- roughly two years after the tech giant released new color models for the seventh and final generation of the iPod Nano.

While the iPhone nano never came to fruition, Apple has continued to make smaller devices under the "mini" moniker, such as the iPhone 12 mini and the HomePod mini.

The email itself is one of the hundreds of emails that surfaced as part of Apple's legal battle with Epic Games. The case was argued in May, and a federal judge is currently reviewing it to determine whether or not Apple violated antitrust law.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Ahead of this year's QuakeCon, a version of the Doom Slayers Collection for Nintendo Switch has seemingly been leaked by Best Buy.

A store page for the game can be found on Best Buy which includes a game overview and price, but no box art. The page also includes a release date for the title which, if accurate, is apparently September 2.

The Doom Slayers Collection is already available for console players on the PS4 and Xbox One, and includes the original 1993 classic, Doom, as well as subsequent releases within the series, Doom II, Doom 3, and 2016's Doom. Unlike the PS4 and Xbox One edition of the game, however, the Switch iteration listed on Best Buy also states that it will include Doom 64, which was re-released last year.

The listing, which features a retail price of $49.99, comes in advance of this week's QuakeCon - suggesting a potential unveiling of Doom Slayers Collection during the event. The possible leak isn't the first to take place in the build-up to the convention, either. We recently reported that the original upload of this year's QuakeCon schedule suggests that a 'revitalized edition' of id Software's classic FPS, Quake, could be announced during a panel.

If you'd like to find out more about the three-day event which will include tournaments, panels, and a range of other features then make sure to check out this article on the QuakeCon 2021 schedule reveal.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Next month, Microsoft is releasing a new $60 Xbox Stereo Headset designed for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PCs, and mobile devices.

The Xbox Stereo Headset aims to bring "more value to the entry-level headset category," with athe features and design elements bearing many similarities to the $99 Xbox Wireless Headset released last year. Features include high-quality ear cushions, a volume control dial on the right earcup, and a built-in unidirectional microphone.

The Xbox Stereo Headset connects to a wireless Xbox controller or other compatible devices via a 3.5mm audio jack like most wired gaming headsets. Microsoft also confirmed that the Xbox Stereo Headset supports high-fidelity spatial sound tech, such as Dolby Atmos.

Although it is missing a few features, if the Xbox Stereo Headset is anything like its wireless counterpart, this is a good alternative for Xbox owners looking to get the most bang for their buck, but who cannot justify spending $99 on the wireless variant – or just prefer wired gaming headsets over wireless ones.

The Xbox Stereo Headset will be available worldwide beginning September 21. You can preorder the headset today at the Microsoft Store or retailers, such as Amazon.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

In a new developer deep-dive for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Eidos-Montreal senior audio director, Steve Szczepkowski revealed just how integral music is incorporated into Guardians of the Galaxy. Rather than just a soundtrack, music will also factor into combat as well as Star-Lord’s backstory.

In a twist on Peter Quill’s backstory, Eidos-Montreal revealed that the name Star-Lord is taken from Peter’s favorite band growing up, and not some name he picked up because it sounds cool.

But instead of just letting the backstory be just that, Szczepkowski actually served as a frontman for the fictional Star-Lord band and recorded an entire in-galaxy album. You’ll be able to hear Szczepkowski’s original album as the band Star-Lord in the game.

Along with the Star-Lord album and full, orchestral score, the Guardians of the Galaxy video game will use select music from the '80s including Iron Maiden, KISS, New Kids On the Block, Rick Astley, Hot Chocolate, and more that will play throughout the game.

These tracks will also play during a combat mechanic called Huddle which will play an '80s song from Peter Quill’s cassette player and aid the whole Guardians team while fighting. In the video, the team is shown gaining a power-up while fighting to Joan Jett.

When the '80s hits, real or fiction, aren’t playing the Guardians of the Galaxy game will be set to a fully orchestrated score by Richard Jacques recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios.

Although Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a separate project unrelated to James Gunn’s MCU film, it’s clear that music is an important factor in both the game and movie and Eidos-Montreal has taken the sound design in Guardians of the Galaxy to another level.

Guardians of the Galaxy is Square Enix’s second collaboration with Marvel, but unlike Marvel’s Avengers, Guardians will be a fully single-player adventure and not a live-service game. Check out IGN’s full interview with the directors of Guardians of the Galaxy here to find out how Eidos-Montreal brought the space team to life.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Sir Ben Kingsley has confirmed that he will be returning to the MCU in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings when it premieres on September 3.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Kingsley confirmed that he will be appearing in the upcoming movie after being spotted at the red carpet premiere earlier this week.

"As you just saw, I was talking to Kevin Feige," Kingsley said to ET. "And thanks to Kevin and Robert Downey Jr. and Drew Pearce and Shane Black, I am in this movie and I'm a member of the Marvel family, because their welcome on Iron Man 3 was so astonishing and generous that I'm still with Marvel again. And I'm delighted to be here!" he added.

Kingsley's first appearance in the MCU featured in Iron Man 3 where he portrayed the role of Trevor Slattery - an actor posing as the notorious terrorist, the Mandarin. Following the events of Iron Man 3, Kingsley reprised his role once again in the Marvel One-Shot, All Hail the King. During the short film, Slattery is imprisoned in Seagate Prison and confronted by Jackson Norriss, a member of the Ten Rings organization who seeks to break Slattery out and give him over to his boss, the actual Mandarin.

After his long-awaited debut into the franchise, the real Mandarin is set to feature in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings where he will be portrayed by Tony Leung. How important Slattery's role will be in the film is yet to be seen. However, it now seems likely that the shamed actor will have to stand judgment before the villain he spent time impersonating.

In the upcoming film, Leung will play Shang-Chi's father Wenwu. The role of Shang-Chi's father has been reimagined for the MCU. In the early comics, the titular hero's father is an evil genius known as Fu Manchu. However, Marvel made the decision to replace Manchu due to the character's problematic origins. You can read more about Marvel's decision to replace Manchu in this article which explores what Marvel President Kevin Feige is saying about Shang-Chi to Chinese audiences.

If you're counting down the days until Shang-Chi premieres in movie theatres, then why not also check out this article which breaks down the film's latest IMAX posters. Alternatively, you can watch the film's exciting new trailer below:

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.