‘Call Of Duty: Vanguard’ composer Bear McCreary discusses “raw and exposed” soundtrack

McCreary wanted to capture the danger and panic of war

Speaking at a press event, Emmy-winning composer Bear McCreary has discussed how he approached the soundtrack for Call Of Duty: Vanguard.

As more details surrounding Call Of Duty: Vanguard emerge – including the confirmation of a November 5 release date – composer Bear McCreary has told members of the press what to expect from the soundtrack of the upcoming WW2 shooter.

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McCreary – who created the soundtrack for 2018’s God Of War and has composed pieces for TV shows such as The Walking Dead – said that he used “small ensembles of strings” as a starting point, aiming to create something “smaller and more urgent”. To that end, McCreary chose to use close mic’d instruments rather than full orchestra arrangements in a lot of the soundtrack.

In those early days, McCreary explains that the multiple leading characters of Call Of Duty: Vanguard were a bit of an “information overload” for him, however Sledgehammer Games allowed him the freedom to take a deeper dive into each specific character.

Call Of Duty: Vanguard
Call Of Duty: Vanguard. Credit: Sledgehammer Games

With this, McCreary was able to create “raw and exposed” themes for each character while still creating a sweeping, epic score for the rest of the game. McCreary shares that the main theme is “emotionally ambiguous”, and leans more into the danger and panic of battle rather than just the heroism. This ties into the general tone of Vanguard, which is based on the “devastating” stories of real people who fought in WW2.

In the same press event, Sledgehammer Games shared plenty of news on the multiplayer for Call Of Duty: Vanguard, including the fact that the game will have 20 maps available for players on launch. More information can be read over at the official blog.

In general, the multiplayer will mark a more tactical approach to Call Of Duty‘s online side, and slower pacing will be met with more options for players to approach situations – including destructible environments, blind firing and more. Meanwhile for fans of Warzone, Call Of Duty: Vanguard will bring a new map and anti-cheat system to the battle royale.

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In other news, Rocket League is getting boosted to 120hz on PS5. 

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