Call of Duty: Vanguard hugely underperformed according to financial forecasts, and Activision Blizzard has blamed the setting and lack of innovation.

One of the biggest annual games in the industry, Call of Duty has cemented its place as one of the FPS giants in gaming.

However, Vanguard has woefully underperformed, with the latest annual report to investors discussing the fact that the game's earning forecast was short by around $300 million!

"While Call of Duty remains one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time, our 2021 premium release didn’t meet our expectations, we believe primarily due to our own execution," read a part of the annual report to investors, according to Kotaku.

"The game's World War II setting didn't resonate with some of our community and we didn’t deliver as much innovation in the premium game as we would have liked."

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There was no mention of the other widespread issues surrounding the launch of the game though, including how the pandemic may have impact Sledgehammer Games, or the explosive allegations of widespread sexual harassment and discrimination.

Despite the considerable underperformance on a financial level, the game did not necessarily flop, as it was still a top-seller after launch, but was a huge step down considering their consistent success with annual titles.

Added to this, the poor performance and controversy around the company did not put off a potential $69 billion takeover from Microsoft.

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The company now has focus on Modern Warfare 2, which they are hoping will show a vast improvement to ignite growth.