Call of Duty: Vanguard beta players report muffled audio

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War is unexpectedly quiet at times

Call of Duty: Vanguard multiplayer
(Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty: Vanguard beta audio can sound oddly muted at times, as many players have expressed through feedback and – this'll sound far-fetched – memes.

A popular post on the dedicated Vanguard subreddit thanks developer Sledgehammer Games for its "attention to detail with historical accuracy," particularly with regards to why "most of the soldiers have severe hearing damage from [a] lack of hearing protection." As user ian2345 argues, this is a tidy explanation for why "all of the weapons sound tinny and everything sounds muted." 

Your experience with the Vanguard beta may vary depending on your platform and setup (and, you know, your ears), but quite a few players clearly feel that some of the audio balancing is a bit off, to say nothing of a few wonky sound effects. Players have highlighted suppressed weapons, submachine guns, inordinately loud character callouts, and the sound of "getting pummelled by shoes whenever anybody lands shots on me," as ShaneDylan96 put it in a comment on the post above. 

As we said in our own Call of Duty Vanguard beta impressions, the game feels familiar but fun, though our own Ben Tyrer did agree that some of the audio was out of whack. Of course, this was just the beta, and making adjustments based on player feedback is what betas are for. Perhaps we'll hear some slightly punchier guns and effects in the full game when it arrives on November 5. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.