Call of Duty: Vanguard will be shipping soldiers off to war when it deploys on November 5 to physical and digital stores. However, will Steam fighters be enlisted to help out after Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was exclusive to Battle.net?
Unfortunately, Activision is continuing to make the PC version of Call of Duty: Vanguard exclusive to Battle.net and has opted out of releasing the game on Steam. The lack of cohesion of your games under one roof on PC is frustrating, but there may be a significant reason for that on the business side.
With Activision putting the game on Battle.net, the company won’t have to share profits with a third-party seller like Steam. Steam’s developer Valve takes a 20% cut on any game that makes over $50 million on the storefront. Removing that from the equation, Activision is seemingly richer and looks more attractive to stakeholders.
The decision to place Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on Battle.net has only been a positive for Activision, as the game broke a series digital sales record last year. Moving from the familiar Steam to Battle.net hasn’t seemed to impact Activision’s bottom line — in fact, it might have improved it.
If you don’t want to play on PC due to Call of Duty: Vanguard’s exclusivity on Battle.net, the game will also be available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X/S.
