Today Activision shared a swathe of news about the upcoming Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 launch and season 01 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
We already knew Modern Warfare 2 would release on November 16 and that’s confirmed, but today we learned that the launch will come at 10:00 am PST.
On the other hand, Season 01 will release on November 14 at 10:00 am PDT. Incidentally, that’s also when you get to download Warzone 2.0 even if it doesn’t open until two days later.
First of all, we learn about the new big map for Warzone 2, Al Mazrah in the United Republic of Adal.
You may actually be playing into part of the map right now, as the following maps are subsections of Al Mazrah.
- Al Bagra Fortress (Core Map)
- Embassy (Core Map)
- Zarqwa Hydroelectric (Core Map)
- Taraq (both Core and Battle Map)
- Sariff Bay (Battle Map)
- Sa’id (Battle Map)
Loadouts will still be a thing in Warzone 2.0, and you’ll be able to earn them in the following ways. Shops will allow players to use their hard-earned, in-match cash to purchase their primary weapon from any of their created loadouts, while Loadout Drops will land into Al Mazrah mid-game. These Loadout Drops will not be limited or assigned to individual squads, however, so you’ll need to race your way to them first. The fastest way to get your loadout in a match will be through clearing Strongholds and Black Sites, which grant your custom loadout as a reward.
A new backpack system is coming. While supply boxes will still throw out their content for players to pick up, all other loot containers will open a loot menu. Killed players will drop their primary weapon and their backpack, which will also open the loot menu.
The Gulag has also been changed and will pitch randomly matched duos of players against each other.
Players will spawn with a Pistol or a Shotgun, a Lethal Grenade, and a Tactical Grenade, with more powerful weapons and gear placed towards the middle of the map.
Interestingly, a jailer NPC will also spawn there, and players can decide to ally to kill him. If the jailer or one of the teams isn’t defeated before the time limit, everyone loses.
You can also find AI enemies at Strongholds and Black Sites, clearly marked on the tactical map. If you complete a stronghold you must disarm a bomb to receive a key to a black site and a custom loadout.
Other teams can defeat a number of enemies (AI or players) to gain access to the same loadout, but won’t receive the key.
Black Sites are even more dangerous than Strongholds and clearing them up will net you a permanent weapon blueprint and valuable gear for that specific match.
Here’s the full roster of vehicles available in Battle Royale 2.0, including the all-new Heavy Chopper and GMC Hummer EV.
- ATV: Nimble three-seater with little protection
- UTV: All-terrain lightweight four-seater.
- Hatchback: Four-door civilian vehicle without any significant protection.
- SUV (Standard): All-terrain civilian 4×4 with a boxy frame.
- GMC Hummer EV: All-electric supertruck engineered for off-road.
- Cargo Truck: Large industrial vehicle with a flatbed.
- Light Helo: Twin-engine light helicopter for rapid traversal and combat support.
- Heavy Chopper: Heavily armored search-and-rescue helicopter.
- RHIB: Maneuverable tactical boat designed for Special Forces.
- Armored Patrol Boat: Reinforced aquatic vehicle with mounted .50 Cal machine guns.
All vehicles will use fuel over time (including the electric one) and they’ll stop if you run them dry. You can find gas stations or gas cans to refuel.
Gas stations also let you repair damage and tires, but you can also fix a flat tire yourself anywhere on the map.
We also get a rather vague official description of the DMZ mode. More will be shared closer to release.
“DMZ is an open-world, narrative-focused extraction mode where Operator squads have free rein to complete faction-based missions, take on additional side objectives, engage with enemy Operators or AI combatants, and search for valuable items, all while fighting to survive toward exfiltration.”
Despite all of this, if you love classic Warzone, that won’t disappear. At approximately 10:00 am PDT on Nov. 28, it will relaunch as a separate experience called Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera, also, those who played the original Warzone will receive a few items for Warzone 2.0 as a token of appreciation.
Moving on to MW2’s Season 01, it will bring back two reimagined maps from the 2019 Modern Warfare.
Shoot House will release on Nov. 14, while Shipment will launch later mid-season.
While ranked play will come later to multiplayer, Season 01 will include a CDL Moshpit Playlist to warm up for it. It’ll use the league’s standard rules, restrictions, and map rotation in all its modes: Hardpoint, Search & Destroy, and Control.
Special Ops will get a new mission at the season’s launch called High Ground for trios of players, prompting one to pilot an attack helicopter while the other two lead a team of AI allies.
Raid Episode 1 will also come mid-season featuring a mix of stealth, action, and puzzle-solving objectives.
Tier 1 playlists (what was previously defined as Hardcore) are also confirmed for season 1, alongside Combat Records, but more info on the latter will be provided at a later time.
We then get an introduction to the new iteration of the Battle Pass, which will look like a multi-sector map. You can earn Battle Token Tier Skips and use them across the map. Each sector has 5 items to unlock and there are 20 sectors. You can use tokens to unlock adjacent sectors or earn more items in the ones you have already unlocked.
This will allow players to have more agency over what they unlock first.
There are four new weapons, two of which are in the Battle Pass and two can be unlocked via Store Bundle or Weapon Unlock Challenge.
The two guns included in the Battle Pass are the Victus XMR Sniper Rifle and the BAS-P SMG. The Chimera Assault Rifle and M13B Assault Rifle require a Store Bundle or Weapon Unlock Challenge.
Six new operators include Zeus at launch, and then Klaus and Gaz will come mid-season. The three football-themed operators are also coming this month, Neymar Jr. on Nov. 21; Paul Pogba, on Nov. 25, and Leo Messi on Nov. 29.
Prestige progression is becoming permanent instead of seasonal. Starting with Season 01, you’ll unlock the first prestige rank at Rank 56 and fur more at 100, 150, 200, and 250.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Season 1 and Warzone 2.0 will launch on Nov. 16 on all platforms.
