In a tweet posted on August 15, Treyarch declared that “Kortifex must die” and confirmed that the name of the forthcoming map will be The Archon. Greek for “ruler,” this seems to be a direct reference to the mode’s primary villain, though it could also refer to Zykov, the antagonist from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War who is said to have usurped Kortifex as ruler of the Dark Aether. Unfortunately, the nigh-on nonexistent Easter eggs found in Der Anfang and Terra Maledicta disappointed many fans, meaning that few are likely still following the mode’s secretive storyline.

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One definite bright spot, however, is the confirmation that The Archon will be a round-based outing. When Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Zombies mode was first introduced, it came as a somewhat half-baked objective-based experience that repurposed multiplayer maps and received an overwhelmingly negative reception from the community. This will be the second round-based Zombies map in Call of Duty: Vanguard, and, given the fact that a Zombies mode will not be included in 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, it’ll likely be the final Call of Duty Zombies installment for some time.

The Archon also may be the first and only completely original Zombies map to be included in Call of Duty: Vanguard. As previously mentioned, the first two maps released for the mode were constructed atop existing multiplayer maps, and the Season 4 return of Shi No Numa was simply a remaster of a map that had already been twice reintroduced to the Call of Duty series. Unfortunately, this is unconfirmed, and, given Treyarch’s recent track record, there’s a not-insignificant chance of The Archon ending up as a retread of older classics like Der Riese from Call of Duty: World At War or Kino Der Toten from Call of Duty: Black Ops.

The Archon is expected to debut alongside the launch of Call of Duty: Vanguard’s fifth and final season. After that, fans can begin to gear up for the October release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which is one of the most highly-anticipated games of 2022.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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