The big change in delivery is this part of Modern Warfare will be free-to-play - like the majority of battle royale titles on the market. Warzone is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's new standalone battle royale title, which is due to release in early March. If Call of Duty Warzone can capture the gritty realism of PUBG and combine it with the polished mass-appeal of Fortnite, then the Modern Warfare battle royale could be the new winner winner chicken dinner. While Fortnite conquered the mainstream battle and continues to dominate most of the conversation, PUBG - the game that really started the battle royale craze - quietly chugs along as one of Steam’s most played games. That aside, though, it’s clear Warzone is only going to get bigger in the future.Move over, Blackout, there's a new Modern Warfare battle royale in town, and its release date is soon. It seems likely they’ll be at least some hiccups, and this week’s blog post includes a caveat stating just that: “There are no current plans to remove content from Warzone but to ensure the best possible player experience, there may be occasions where content is delayed, or becomes temporarily or permanently inaccessible.” We also imagine there will be some inevitable balancing issues given the hugely expanded arsenal available to players. The question is, can Activision pull this off smoothly? That remains to be seen. Player progression will be synchronized across all three titles. It’s a little confusing to read about, but hopefully the experience for players will be relatively seamless.
At the same time, the standard multiplayer experience for Black Ops Cold War will sync with the older titles through a unified leveling system. Warzone will get new content while dedicated players who’ve spent hours unlocking rare items won’t lose their loot. The big tl dr, though, is that Activision wants players to have their cake and eat it.
There’s a lot of detail to parse here, but be sure to check out the full blog for any unanswered questions. Nuketown is also back, with a new remix of the classic map available from November 24th.
The launch of Black Ops Cold War Season One on December 10th will also come with new standard multiplayer maps and modes, including a new Zombies mode and the return of 2v2 gunfights. Specifically, Operators from Cold War will be available in the battle royale from November 12th at 9PM PT, including all skins, quips, and finishing moves. In addition to these changes, the launch of Black Ops Cold War will mean new content for Warzone. A rough roadmap for new content coming to Warzone with the launch of Season One.
The Battle Pass system will also be unified across titles. Ranks will reset with this launch, but not unlockables. All of these changes will kick in with the launch of Black Ops Cold War Season One on December 10th. What are currently called Enlisted Ranks (levels 1 to 55) will be renamed as Military Ranks, while Seasonal Officer Progression will become Season Levels, which itself will feed into a new Prestige system. Player progression will also be synchronized across the three games’ multiplayer modes, no matter which title you’re playing.
Sharing content and player progression across games is a huge challenge