After more than 3 years of total domination, Call of Duty Warzone will blow out its last candle. Well, not quite because a brand new Battle Royale will be released alongside Modern Warfare 2, the new features of which are summarized for you.
With over a hundred million active players at the peak of its history, Call of Duty: Warzone is unquestionably the most popular Battle Royale of the past three years. With its accessible gameplay, its free progression system, and its unique operation, it was able to perfect the principle of the service game to practically reinvent the way multiplayer games are part of time. Except that Warzone is now over 3 years old, starting to slightly feel the effects of time and struggling to maintain the interest of its huge fan base, suffering a loss of over 60 million players a few weeks ago. The good news is that Activision and Infinity Ward are back with a new annual release, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which is a direct continuation of the now famous Modern Warfare of 2019. And for the Battle Royale , it also means the providential arrival of Warzone 2.0
What’s new in Warzone 2.0?
It was during a recent presentation of more than 1h30 that we were able to learn more about Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0. Modern Warfare 2 will be the sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare and will be accompanied shortly after its release by an all-new Battle Royale: Warzone 2.0. Yes, because the Battle Royale should cut ties with its predecessor, and integrate all new mechanics and features specific to the new Modern Warfare 2. Moreover, it is Infinity Ward which replaces Sledgehammer Games at the controls of this future Battle Royale, and the studio has already listed some of its biggest gameplay innovations:
New moves: the success of Apex Legends may have made Infinity Ward think about this, but the studio has chosen to integrate new movement possibilities into Warzone 2.0. Operators will have the opportunity to dive, to hang on a ledge, while pulling of course.
New Gadgets: a tactical camera, a wall-piercing charge, a decoy, an electromagnetic bomb… If you imagine it, Warzone 2.0 will have it. Infinity Ward did not hesitate to present us with some of the new gadgets that will punctuate the gameplay of its future Battle Royale, and we hope that there will be enough to compete with the eternal heart sensor.
Underwater combat: if a wet toe was fatal in Warzone, Warzone 2.0 intends to incorporate underwater combat into its formula. Operators will therefore be able to swim underwater at different depths, and even shoot. The ballistics of the bullets will of course be influenced by the resistance of the water.
Revamped vehicles: vehicles are a huge part of Warzone, and Infinity Ward intends to capitalize on that. The studio claims to have improved the possibilities of interaction with vehicles, allowing the player to climb on the roof or shoot from a window. Tires may also be destroyed and repaired.
Of course, these different additions will allow Warzone 2.0 to offer us new “sandbox” moments. The new movement possibilities offer different options for approaching a fight, and give the player the feeling of freedom that made Warzone so successful in its early days. Between new gadgets, vehicle interactions, underwater combat, Warzone 2.0 could well find this little grain of madness and unexpectedness that served its predecessor so much. Failing to offer incredible graphic innovations (which is good news for older generation consoles and more modest PCs) Warzone 2.0 seems well on its way to reconquering the kingdom of Battle Royale.
What release date for Warzone 2.0?
Activison and Infinity Ward have been very clear on the release date of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which will be available on October 28, but less so on that of Warzone 2.0. Discussions have indicated a later release than the main game, for a period that could range from a few weeks to several months. Given the current context and the still palpable influence of the coronavirus pandemic on the environment, we are rather expecting a launch in early 2023. Of course, Warzone 2.0 will be released on all the platforms on which Modern Warfare 2 will be released, that is to say on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series.