NICKMERCS explains why he won’t play Call of Duty Vanguard

Jacob Hale
nickmercs and cod vanguard logo

Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff has explained why he isn’t playing the new Call of Duty: Vanguard — but has been slightly tempted by it.

Nick has, at times, been one of the biggest names on Twitch when it comes to Call of Duty.

Several years ago, before he blew up in Fortnite, Nick was constantly grinding Search and Destroy tournaments and was one of the most popular names in the scene, barring the top pros.

He’s since disavowed the CoD S&D community, calling it “home to some of the dirtiest little creatures on the internet.”

cod vanguard man shooting rifle
Vanguard launched on November 5, but NICKMERCS has avoided it.

In a Twitch stream on November 11, Nick spoke up about Vanguard, why he’d be interested in playing it but ultimately decided to continue his Apex Legends grind rather than join in on the new CoD hype.

“Every year, new Call of Duty comes out, everybody loves it for a week,” he said in a clip that has now started going viral on TikTok. “It’s just brand new. And I’ve watched, I just don’t think there’s a lot to talk about.”

That wasn’t all, though, with Nick suggesting that he could be tempted back in. “The only thing that I think would really interest me about that pub-style of Call of Duty is those S&D tournaments… But that community is something I told myself I’d never get back involved with again.”

Click here if TikTok won’t load

He went on: “I don’t even want to bring my viewership, my people, my community into the S&D world ever again. So I try and stay away from it.”

While long-time fans of Nick would love to see him back in the S&D scene and competing against top pros and streamers, he’s never made a secret of his disdain for that community, so it’s no surprise to see him avoiding it.

About The Author

Jacob is Dexerto’s UK Editor and Call of Duty esports specialist. With a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing, he previously worked as an Editor at Ginx TV. Jacob was nominated for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Esports Awards. Contact: jacob.hale@dexerto.com.