Call of Duty: Vanguard is set during World War II. Their national hero represents another country, making the “Kiwis” angry (and justified). The four heroes of the campaign are not real people.

However, they are closely based on real people, trying to stay as close as possible to show where Sledgehammer Games (previously made Call of Duty: WWII) drew the inspiration, making it easy to find who’s who.

Charles Upham is a New Zealander. He’s one of the few men who was awarded two Victoria Crosses. However, the character in this year’s Call of Duty, Lucas Riggs, doesn’t represent the country. Instead, he is coming from neighbouring Australia, which ticked New Zealand off, as there’s not much reason behind changing Riggs’ nationality…

“It’s like turning Sir Edmund Hillary into an Australian, or Lorde, or Jonah Lomu. It’s an insult. At best, it’s ignorance; at worst, it’s a giant middle finger to us all. Charles Upham’s significance cannot be overstated. No other combat soldier has ever been awarded two Victoria Crosses in all of history. That incredible achievement belongs to our country alone, Aotearoa New Zealand,” NewsHub, a New Zealander website, wrote.

The other protagonists of Call of Duty: Vanguard doesn’t have such issues. Polina Petrova is from Russia (or the Soviet Union, since it existed); Arthur Kingsley represents the United Kingdom, and Wade Jackson is from the United States. But get this, Sledgehammer responded to Newshub: “As with all the main characters in the campaign, we drew a lot of inspiration from real-life soldiers. With Lucas Riggs, we drew a lot of that inspiration from Charles Upham, whose exploits embodied the spirit of all the Commonwealth forces serving in North Africa.”

So what exactly holds Sledgehammer back to give credit where it’s due in the game that launches on November 5 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PC (Battle.net), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One?

Source: PCGamer