Call of Duty: Vanguard does away with WWII’s health packs

Call of Duty: Vanguard will bring the series back to World War II. But it’s not a continuation of developer Sledgehammer Games’ previous WWII game, nor will Vanguard carry over Call of Duty: WWII’s health pack system. Vanguard will instead use the automatic health regeneration system common to modern Call of Duty games.

During a presentation lead by Sledgehammer Games, Call of Duty: Vanguard game director Josh Bridge said that the game’s campaign will feature automatic health regen, for a “more unified experience.

“[The] campaign will have auto health regen,” Bridge said in a statement to Polygon. “[The] goal is to keep to a more unified experience between modes, and matching health systems was something that the team felt was important. Coupled with that decision, each of the main characters you play as bring unique to them abilities/mechanics in their levels. This further drives an overall sense of gameplay variety across the campaign, but also these abilities help distinguish each character’s identity.”

Call of Duty: Vanguard will span four theaters of war and four playable characters: Sgt. Arthur Kingsley, of Britain’s 9th Parachute Battalion; Lt. Polina Petrova, of the Soviet 138th Rifle Division; Captain Wade Jackson, from the U.S.’s Scouting Squadron Six; and Second Lieutenant Lucas Riggs of Australia’s 20th Battalion. For more on the game, check out Polygon’s preview.

At the same time that Vanguard is being shown for the first time, Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard faces wide-ranging allegations that it maintains a toxic workplace environment that is particularly hostile to women. A lawsuit, filed by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing in July, alleges the company pays women less, subjects them to sexual harassment, and that perpetrators are not meaningfully punished. You can read more about the allegations against Activision Blizzard in Polygon’s explainer.