Call of Duty: Warzone‘s scattergun approach to crossovers has seen the battle royale feature operators based on famous figures in other media. While not as exhaustive as a game like Fortnite, which has crossed over with almost every media product under the sun, CoD: Warzone has quietly built itself a catalog of licensed operators and alternate skins since it was first released in 2020. From horror icons to hip-hop sensations and comic book supervillains to the eighth wonder of the world, here are the top 10 weirdest crossover operators in Call of Duty: Warzone.
10. Snoop Dogg
It says a lot about CoD: Warzone’s various crossovers when rapper Snoop Dogg is tenth on this list. Snoop has a history with the Call of Duty franchise, having supplied voice lines for a Voice Pack in CoD: Ghosts, so he’s ranked high on the list. Speaking of things that are “high,” The Snoop Dogg Operator Bundle leans into the rapper’s well-known love of recreational drugs with his “Bong Ripper” sniper rifle, “West Coast Bling” assault rifle, and “Tha Shiznit” SMG firing unique “Green Weed” tracer rounds.
Snoop has actually had two Tracer Pack appearances. The first was the aforementioned Snoop Dogg Operator Bundle in CoD: Vanguard and Warzone Season 2, the second during Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0’s fifth season as part of the games’ 50 Years of Hip Hop event. The pack was, fittingly, called Snoop Dogg: Return Of The Shizzle and featured guns named after two of his songs, an AR called “Life of Da Party” and an SMG called “Wild and Free.”
9. Judge Dredd
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was set in the 1980s, which allowed Activision to include some classic action heroes of the era. There was Die Hard’s John McClane and John Rambo from, well, Rambo. However, it was another Sylvester Stallone character that stood out in the form of Judge Dredd. Dredd first debuted in the British comic book 2000 AD in 1977 and made his American debut in 1983 – a year before Black Ops Cold War is set. He is a tough-as-nails cop who patrols and protects the futuristic Mega-City One as judge, jury, and executioner.
While Rambo fits into the Black Ops sub-series due to his ties with Vietnam, and McClane works well alongside the addition of Die Hard’s famous Nakatomi Plaza building, Dredd stands out. He looks fantastic (especially his black and white “Comic Strip” skin, and was a welcome addition to the game, but one could argue that Judge Dredd’s inclusion was a sign of weirder things to come for CoD operator skins.
8. Starlight
Debuting during The Boys x Call of Duty event, Starlight is one of the few redeemable characters in Amazon Prime’s hit superhero show The Boys. Based on the Garth Ennis comic of the same name, The Boys turns the superhero genre on its head, depicting the often heinous secret lives of Earth’s cruelest heroes. Starlight, to her credit, remains a ray of hope that not all superheroes are selfish and bloodthirsty. A member of The Seven (imagine the Justice League but with more murder), her powers revolve around her absorbing electricity and converting it into deadly blasts of light, like a deadly solar panel.
Her inclusion into Warzone is very weird because, unlike her fellow The Seven alumni, Black Noir, she doesn’t use weapons; unlike the excessively violent psychopath Homelander, she tries to avoid killing. Honestly, The Boys’ leader, Billy Butcher, or even Captain America parody Soldier Boy, would have been more appropriate inclusions.
7. Nicki Minaj
Released as part of the 50 Years of Hip Hop event alongside the previously mentioned Snoop Dogg and Atlanta rapper 21 Savage, Nicki Minaj was the first female celebrity to get their own operator in Warzone. The skin is inspired by the rapper’s various alter-egos, including Harajuka Barbie and Red Ruby Da Sleeze. Her blueprint for the MX Guardian shotgun is named after her song “Super Freaky” and references another famous song, “Superbase.”
Nicki has arguably the brightest skin and arsenal in the game with her bright pink hair totally unsuited to stealth gameplay. Likewise, her metallic rose outfit and silver high heels aren’t at all suited to an active warzone. Nicki Minaj also appeared in the Modern Warfare II “Squad Up” trailer alongside 21 Savage so maybe her skin in the game was not too much of a surprise after all.
6. Kong
Operation Monarch was a fun, explosive change of pace for Warzone as two of cinema’s most iconic giant monsters took over the island of Caldera, raining down chunks of rock and flaming energy breath in a battle for the ages. I am, of course, talking about the arrival of the king of the monsters and the angriest lizard this side of Tokyo, Godzilla, and the eighth wonder of the world and defender of the Hollow Earth, Kong. The pair were added to Warzone to promote Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla vs Kong… a full year after the film had been released.
The Titans also got tie-in operator skins alongside the film’s villain, Mecha-Godzilla. While all three are more than worthy additions to this list, I’ve singled Kong out as the weirdest because of how odd the skin is. Kong is the goofiest of the three. An alternate skin to Wade that makes the American soldier look unnaturally bulky, especially around the shoulders. The “Kong’s Scepter” blueprint for the Skål Crusher axe is awesome, but the Kong mask looks like something from a Halloween store.
5. Hazel and Cha-Cha
Two for the price of one here with the inseparable assassin duo Hazel and Cha-Cha from The Umbrella Acadamy. The Umbrella Academy is a weird franchise for Call of Duty to crossover with because none of the super-powered main characters seem appropriate fits for the FPS franchise. In both Gerard Way’s original comic and the Netflix show, only Diego Hargreaves and Five really fit into the tone of Warzone.
However, the former primarily uses blades over firearms, and the latter is a teleporting assassin trapped in his childhood body (it’s a long story). The Umbrella Academy just does not fit with Call of Duty, and while Activision made an effort to convert the franchise’s gun-toting assassins Hazel and Cha-Cha, the pair just don’t look right. Their masks (styled after the comic rather than the show) look awkwardly plopped onto generic character models like ill-fitting LEGO minifigure heads.
4. Armored Titan
The Armored Titan from Attack on Titan is hands down the ugliest licensed skin in Call of Duty. Released to coincide with the hit anime’s final season, this alternate skin for the operator Roland comes with an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, and a machine pistol blueprint. While in Warzone, the Armored Titan can be killed by more than a slice to the nape, the fleshy red sinew and armored, plate-like skin do not translate well to Warzone.
The result is an unappealing skin that looks like a naked man is gunning for you. A second Attack on Titan tracer pack starring the skilled Survey Corps member Captain Levi also came out, and while the “Titan Piercer” Katana blueprint is great, the corresponding skin for operator Daniel looks more like a cheap cosplay.
3. Billy
I vividly remember this skin being everywhere during the Haunting of Verdansk event in Warzone season 6. It felt like everywhere you went, a (usually very good) player was wearing the skin on the operator Morte. Billy is a puppet used by serial killer John Kramer, a.k.a Jigsaw, to communicate with his victims in the Saw film series. The Billy skin is one of the best in Warzone with its soulless black eyes, spiraled cheeks, and little red bow tie.
The reason it is on this list over the Haunting of Verdansk’s other tie-in skin (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Leatherface skin for Velikan) is that Billy has never killed anyone. The iconic image of Billy on his tricycle is ingrained into the minds of horror fans, but the fact is, he’s not actually done anything. He was just a creepy-looking four-foot ventriloquist puppet. Is Chucky next? On the other hand, the “Phlebotomist” combat knife blueprint accompanying the skin is a suitably horrendous-looking weapon straight out of one of Jigsaw’s extravagant traps.
2. Frank the Rabbit
I would love to sit down and have a chat with whoever suggested adding a Donnie Darko pack to Call of Duty: Warzone. Who on earth looked at the 2001 mind-bending sci-fi cult favorite and thought that the ominous Frank the Bunny would make a good character to add to Call of Duty? In the film, Frank visits Jake Gyllenhaal’s titular Donnie in a dream and subsequently begins to influence Donnie during the teenager’s sleepwalking episodes. As weird as the character’s inclusion is, the skin (for operator Baker) is actually really good! The fur on the bunny looks soft and realistic, and the mask is suitably disturbing. Likewise, the finishing move, “Sky is Falling,” included in the Donnie Darko Tracer Pack, is a neat reference to the film that sees a jet engine crash into its victim.
1. Neymar, Paul Pogba, and Lionel Messi
As part of the build-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, three of the world’s best footballers dived into Warzone. It’s always a little surreal seeing actual people competing in a battle royale game against the likes of Kong and Judge Dredd, but watching Lionel Messi dribble past enemy defenses and lob a grenade over a wall is very unusual. French midfielder Paul Pogba and Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer Neymar joined the Argentinian legend on the battlefield, and they quickly became the deadliest attacking trio the sport had ever seen. For anyone wondering, Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, securing a third world title for the nation.
Call of Duty: Warzone has been going strong for several years now, and while its crossovers tend to be weird and random, it is always interesting to see what the long-running franchise has up its sleeve.
