Call of Duty Vanguard campaign locked issue explained
What to do next when the story is currently inaccessible.
For new owners of Call of Duty Vanguard, one issue that comes up is the campaign locked issue.
On the main menu, where you can select between different modes (and even different Call of Duty games), you might find the campaign for Vanguard is inaccessible - as indicated by a locked icon.
The solution is that the campaign has not yet been downloaded yet - it's technically classed as a separate install and, once you have the campaign packs, the story mode should be playable.
If you're interested in playing other modes while the campaign installs, we have a complete list of Call of Duty Vanguard operators and maps list in multiplayer.
If you're interested in multiplayer, we have lists of the Operators and multiplayer maps, as well as the best Vanguard weapons, including the best STG44 loadout, best MP40 loadout and best Automaton loadout, best BAR loadout, best Combat Shotgun loadout, best Type 100 loadout, and best Kar98k loadouts. In other modes, we can explain the best zombies builds and best covenants.
How to solve the campaign locked issue in Call of Duty: Vanguard
When you load up Call of Duty: Vanguard for the first time, it's possible the campaign will be locked, as indicated by a locked symbol next to its main menu entry.
To solve this issue, you need to download the campaign chapters. This can be a separate download depending on your platform, and it's possible to access it by pressing the button mentioned on the bottom of the screen next to 'Start Install' (for us on PlayStation, this was the Square button).
From there, the campaign packs should immediately download, and a loading bar should appear beneath the menu options.
If the campaign packs don't download, then it's possible you don't have enough storage on your console or PC. Clear some room - for us on PS5, the packs were 10.9GB and 7.1GB each - then try again.
Alternatively, since these packs are classed as separate installs and not just in-game downloads, you might be able to download them manually from the game's store listing or game library area of your system of choice.
This also means you can play other modes or even other games, and the campaign packs will continue downloading.
Once downloaded, the campaign menu option should have its locked symbol gone, and the mode should be fully accessible.