CoD Vanguard dev explains why red dots were removed from minimap

April 2023 · 2 minute read

A Call of Duty Vanguard developer has explained the decision to remove red dots from the minimap again, and instead offer players a perk to return to the classic map style.

When Modern Warfare 2019 first removed red dots from the minimap (and even removed the minimap entirely), it was a massively divisive change for CoD players. The minimap can be your best friend when it comes to gathering enemy intel, so removing it can cause some issues.

Vanguard has followed in similar footsteps to MW19, with no red dots on the minimap when enemy players shoot unless you equip the Radar perk.

Now, a Vanguard dev from Sledgehammer Games has explained why they decided to stick to this new version of the minimap.

Vanguard players are torn on the minimap.

During a Twitter Spaces call with CharlieIntel, Sledgehammer Games’ multiplayer creative director Greg Reisdorf explained the decision to not go back to what some players prefer.

“That was another thing that we were looking at, starting with Modern Warfare in a lot of ways, and seeing the success there in terms of just the gameplay as well, keeping players focused on what’s in front of them,” he noted.

“That minimap is super important for high-level play, and really, at the end of the day, you’re just playing the minimap. We wanted players in the game. We had this focus on fantasy within the game, so we really pushed on that from day 1 on the power of the weapons, around all the destruction happening in the maps. We really wanted to put you in there and get you looking at what’s in front of you as opposed to up in the corner all the time at the minimap.”

Do you miss the classic CoD minimap?

He elaborated on the point saying that they wanted players to have more choice in their games, hence adding the Radar perk to offer the minimap as it used to appear in Call of Duty games of years past.

While many players miss the classic minimap, based on this, it might be a while before we see it return.

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