Call of Duty: Vanguard system requirements

Can I run Call of Duty: Vanguard?

In an effort to optimise the game and lower the barrier to entry, Activision has split its Call of Duty: Vanguard system requirements into four categories: Minimum, Recommended, Competitive, and Ultra 4K. All of these require 61GB of storage space for all modes (36GB for multiplayer and zombies only), but you can also budget for the optional hi-res assets pack with up to another 64GB.

Meeting the minimum isn't too difficult, as the game asks for the seven-year-old Intel Core i3-4340 or an eight-year-old AMD FX-6300 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and either an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon RX 470 graphics card. If you had no trouble playing the beta, then the likelihood is you already meet the recommended system requirements, as they're largely the same as the test period's minimum. These include an Intel Core i5-2500K or an AMD Ryzen 5 1600X processor, 12GB of memory, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580 GPU.

Frame rate focused players can also benefit from Call of Duty: Vanguard's competitive system requirements, as the specified specs can help boost fps and maintain a silky smooth gameplay experience. To meet these requirements, you'll need an Intel Core i7-8700K, AMD Ryzen 7 1800X, or greater; Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070/RTX 3060 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700XT. While RAM isn't factored into Activision's recommendations, 16GB is likely advisable.

And finally, we have the Ultra 4K system requirements for the resolution hungry. You'll need a beefy rig to pull this off, as it demands an Intel Core i9-9900K or AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, 16GB of RAM, and the latest Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card.

Call of Duty: Vanguard review

Our friends at PCGamesN have posted their Call of Duty: Vanguard review, which you can read here. They've also posted a round-up of reviews, pointing to an overall positive reception for the new entry in the series.

Call of Duty: Vanguard Steam

Activision hasn't released Call of Duty: Vanguard on Steam, so you can only download it through Battle.net on PC. The game is also available on previous and current generation consoles, letting you play Call of Duty: Vanguard on PS4, Xbox One, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Call of Duty: Warzone - Vanguard update

Call of Duty: Vanguard's arrival is set to usher in a new World War 2 CoD: Warzone update, and things are set to kick off on December 2 2021. Featuring a new island map dubbed Caldera, the Warzone Pacific update features Vanguard's arsenal of WW2 weapons, which players will have to use during the game's Vanguard Royale and Vanguard Plunder modes.

While you'd perhaps expect the WW2 inspired Warzone map to launch alongside Call of Duty: Vanguard, previous Activision shooters like Call of Duty: Cold War also released out of sync with the multiplayer mode. So, if you're itching to jump into the new version of Warzone, you'll have to wait a little longer.

Call of Duty: Vanguard settings

Providing you follow Activision's recommended system requirements, you shouldn't need to spend too long trying to achieve the best Call of Duty: Vanguard settings. However, if you find your gaming PC isn't quite ready for battle, you should be able to tweak things to boost fps. 

First off, you'll want to choose a preset as a starting point, as this will help you gauge your gaming PC's capabilities. Based on our tests, we'd recommend setting the game to 'High', as individual options can be tweaked if your rig is struggling with performance. 

If you've got an RTX series graphics card, you'll want to take advantage of Nvidia's DLSS AI upscaling, as it can increase the game's frame rate by 25% with 4K ultra settings enabled. Reducing the shooter's shadow, particle, and texture quality also benefits performance when set to 'lowest', but the visual compromise might not be worth it for some players. 

Vanguard's anti-aliasing can't be switched off, but you can disable the game's "filmic TAA", something that acts like a blurry filter. You'll also want to make sure the filmic setting's slider is set to zero to prevent grainy looking visuals. 

Setting a frame limit and enabling Vsync can help minimise screen tearing issues, but we'd advise disabling both if you're not afflicted with any graphics hiccups. Of course, if you have a G-sync enabled gaming monitor, you should find that your gameplay experience is free from any synchronisation hiccups. 

Latest COD game

For your next COD game? Check our Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 system requirements page. For the next game in the Black Ops series, check out the Black Ops 6 system requirements guide