While some violent aspects, depictions, and themes come with the Call of Duty label–or the simple act of creating a game meant to plunge the player into a recreation of modern warfare–others are more specific. Call of Duty: Vanguard’s portrayal of zombies, for example, has been spotlighted by the ESRB for its depictions of decapitations and dismemberment, which may be a different kind of violence from the usual gunshots.

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However, the Zombies mode isn’t the only reason Call of Duty: Vanguard is getting an M rating. Despite the visibility and audio problems that arose in the first Call of Duty: Vanguard open beta weekend, the game still depicts soldiers dying to a variety of bullets, grenades, explosives, fire, and more. Specific cutscenes may also show the consequences of an airstrike, the execution of restrained prisoners, or a close-up of a soldier being stabbed in the throat, all of which are apparently considered more intense violence than the usual Call of Duty gameplay.

Also worth noting are the realistic battlefield sound effects, which include frequent gunfire, explosions, and cries of pain, as well as blood splatter. This may be nothing out of the ordinary for Call of Duty players, but that may well be why all previous mainline Call of Duty titles as of writing have also gotten M ratings. Reportedly, Call of Duty 2022 will be about fighting Colombian drug cartels, which may net it an M rating as well–especially considering that portrayals of marijuana-related items in Call of Duty: Vanguard were also used as evidence by the ESRB’s rating summary.

The final reasoning provided for the game’s M rating is the presence of strong language. Strong language has been present in multiple Call of Duty games set across different time periods, presumably to add to the feel of realism. Real-life soldiers are notoriously prone to swearing and cursing, so it may follow that video game soldiers should pick up similar speech patterns. Regardless, the result appears to be a title gamers may not wish to play around minors, especially minors who might parrot words without understanding them.

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

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