Call of Duty Warzone is a free-to-play battle royale video game released on March 10, 2020, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. The game is a part of the 2019 title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare but does not require purchase of them. Warzone was developed by Infinity Ward and Raven Software and published by Activision. Warzone allows online multiplayer combat among 150 players, although some limited-time game modes support 200 players. The game features both cross-platform play and cross-platform progression between three games.
The game features two main modes: Plunder and Battle Royale. Warzone introduces a new in-game currency system called “Cash” which is used at “Buy Stations” in and around Verdansk. “Loadout” drops are an example of where Cash can be traded for limited access to players’ custom classes (which were shared with Modern Warfare’s standard modes prior to Season 6, v1.29, but now are unique to Warzone). Players may also use Cash to purchase items such as “killstreaks” and gas masks. At launch, Warzone only offered Trios, a squad capacity of three players. However, in free post launch content updates, Solos, Duos and Quads have all been added to the game.[2][3]
The game received generally positive reviews from critics, with the maps receiving specific praise. In May 2020, Activision announced that Warzone had surpassed over 60 million downloads in the first two months. As of December 2020, the game has more than 85 million players worldwide.
Warzone features two primary game modes: Battle Royale and Plunder.[4] It is the second main battle royale installment in the Call of Duty franchise, following the “Blackout” mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018). Warzone differs from Black Ops 4 by reducing reliance on equipable gadgets and instead encouraging the accumulation of a new in-game currency called Cash.[4] Warzone supports up to 150 players in a single match, which exceeds the typical size of 100 players seen in other battle royale titles.[5] Some limited-time modes support 200 players.
The Battle Royale mode is similar to other titles in the genre where players compete in a continuously shrinking map to be the last player remaining. Players parachute onto a large game map, where they encounter other players. As the game progresses and players are eliminated, the playable area shrinks forcing the remaining players into tighter spaces. In Warzone, the non-playable areas become contaminated with a green gas that depletes health and eventually kills the player if they do not return to the safe playable area.[4] Unlike other titles, Warzone introduces a new respawn mechanic, a greater emphasis on vehicles, and a new in-game currency mechanic. Parachuting is unrestricted, with the player being allowed to open and cut their parachute an unlimited number of times while in air. At launch, the game supported trios (squads of up to three players) with an option to disable squad filling. Infinity Ward has mentioned testing the number of squad members in future updates. Four-player squads and Solo BR modes were added in following updates, while Duos was added near the end of Season 3.
Character death in Battle Royale does not necessarily translate to player defeat like in other titles. Instead, the mode offers a respawn mechanic which players can take advantage of in various ways. Players who are killed are transported to the “Gulag”, where they engage in one-on-one combat with another defeated player, with both players being given the same weaponry. The guns that the players receive have little or no attachments. Players may only enter the gulag after their first death in a match. The winner of this combat is respawned into the game. Other methods of respawn are available using the in-game currency system. Players may use the in-game currency to purchase respawn tokens for other players should they not be revived by the Gulag mechanic.[6]
In the Plunder mode,[7] teams have to search for stacks of Cash scattered around the map to accumulate $1 million. Once found, the game goes into overtime, multiplying all Cash sums by 1.5. The team who has gathered the most money when the clock runs out is declared the winner. Players respawn automatically in this gamemode.
In addition to Battle Royale and Plunder, several limited-time modes have been introduced throughout the course of the game’s life cycle:
- BR Buy Backs (originally called BR Stimulus) is a variation of Battle Royale in which players automatically respawn upon death if they have sufficient money, and the Gulag is disabled.
- Blood Money is a variation of Plunder in which players gain more cash rewards from completing contracts and performing “finishing moves” (execution kills) on other players.
- Warzone Rumble is a 50v50 deathmatch type game mode taking place in cut-off sections of the main Verdansk map.
- Mini Royale is a 50-player mode in which players drop within a smaller circle than normal Battle Royale modes, for more squad engagements.
- Juggernaut Royale features the Juggernaut killstreak dropping in random places throughout the map. Up to three Juggernauts can be active at once in the map. Once a Juggernaut is killed, another Juggernaut care package will spawn in.
- Armored Royale features squads spawning in with armored trucks, which players can upgrade to be more powerful over time. Unlike normal modes, players can continue to respawn as long as their squad’s truck is intact.
Black Ops Cold War integration
For the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Activision and Treyarch have announced that the game will feature a unified progression system with Warzone, allowing items from Cold War multiplayer modes to be usable within Warzone, alongside Modern Warfare items players have earned or purchased. Season 1 of Cold War content was released on December 16, 2020, featuring a new BR map and mode named Rebirth Island, along with a “new Gulag experience”.[8][9]
Maps
Verdansk
Verdansk is the original Battle Royale map featured in the game, themed after the fictional city featured in the Modern Warfare campaign and multiplayer modes. The map is based on the real-life Donetsk city. Verdansk serves as the primary map for most of the game modes featured in Warzone.
Rebirth Island
Rebirth Island is the second map introduced in the game with the integration of Black Ops Cold War’s contents. The map is based on the real-life Vozrozhdeniya Island, which was also featured in the Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign mode. Unlike Verdansk, Rebirth Island is smaller in scale, only allowing 40 players maximum per match.
Equipment
Every player starts off with the X16 pistol with no attachments. Players can pick up every component found in a standard loadout (primary and secondary weapons, lethal and tactical equipment, field upgrades, and kill streaks) as they search the map for items located on the ground as well as in supply boxes found in designated locations. Additional equipment unique to the Warzone game mode is shield plates. Three of these shield plates can be applied to a player at a given time with the ability to carry five shields in the players’ inventory, or eight if the player has found an armor satchel. Players can also pick up cash that can be used at buy stations for various purposes. Custom loadouts can be acquired using random loadout drops (or bought from buy stations). In Plunder, players spawn with custom loadouts, similar to regular Multiplayer modes.
