Home IFTTT Pocket-lint Call of Duty Warzone 2.0 release date, trailers, gameplay changes, new map and more

Call of Duty Warzone 2.0 release date, trailers, gameplay changes, new map and more

November 14, 2022

The next generation of Call of Duty: Warzone is nearly here, taking in huge upgrades over the current version and wiping the slate clean on progression and stats.

Modern Warfare 2 is out now, so the transition is well and truly in motion, and we'll very soon be able to tuck into the next version of Warzone at long last.

Here's what we know so far.

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Warzone 2.0 release date

Call of Duty Warzone 2.0 will be available from 16 November 2022 - that's just a short blip from now, and comes after the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

This was confirmed at COD: Next, an event that may well become a fixture for Activision annually, given how much interest it generated.

That release date is a relief compared to rumours of a 2023 launch and means we've had a couple of weeks to level up in MW2's multiplayer before sinking into the new Warzone.

Warzone 2.0 trailer

Just a few days before its release, Warzone 2.0 finally got a proper trailer, and what a trailer it is.

There's loads to see including explosive action and plenty of vehicular manslaughter - new mechanics and modes are all showcased. Before that, we'd only had a short glimpse in the below trailer from COD Next.

If you want to see more of the game in action, though, simply head to YouTube - a bunch of streamers got to play some rounds of Warzone 2.0 at Next and then again at Infinity Ward's HQ in November 2022, meaning there's a lot of gameplay out there from the likes of StoneMountain64, Westie and many more.

Warzone 2.0 platforms

It's been confirmed that the next generation of Warzone won't be leaving behind older consoles, despite hardcore fans' pleas - Infinity Ward has rightly pointed out that it would be abandoning by far the biggest slice of players if it gave up on the PS4 and Xbox One.

That means you can bank on Warzone 2.0 coming out on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One and PC. This will mean full native versions of the game for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, though, for improved performance and resolution.

Is Warzone 2.0 free?

The next version of Warzone will indeed retain the free-to-play status that made the first game such a smash hit.

That means you'll be able to play Warzone 2.0 completely for free, and it should also be the case that on PlayStation and Xbox you won't have to pay for online subscriptions to access its online modes.

Do skins and guns carry over to Warzone 2.0?

Infinity Ward has confirmed that the move to a new engine is a fundamental one for Warzone, meaning that it's wiping the slate clean from a progression standpoint when Warzone 2.0 drops.

This means that whatever unlocks you've earned in Warzone so far will NOT carry over to the new game, and the same will go for gun and operator skins you might have purchased.

This may be a disappointment to some, but is only logical considering Warzone will have been out for 2.5 years by the time its sequel drops. Things can't last forever!

Does the original Warzone still exist?

Another interesting thing that has been confirmed is that the arrival of Warzone 2.0 will not destroy Warzone 1.0 - the current version of the game will continue to operate for the foreseeable future. This might be to avoid people falling off the bandwagon or just as a way to keep them having access to bundles they've bought.

There will be a break while Warzone 2.0 launches and settles into its status as the default destination for new players, during which you won't be able to access the older game. Then, according to Infinity Ward, Warzone 1 will return as Warzone Caldera.

It'll only let you play Caldera, too, with neither of the smaller maps currently in the game (Rebirth Island, Fortune's Keep) sticking around.

Warzone 2.0 new Battle Pass system

Fortnite's Battle Pass has been the envy of the industry for a while, with incredible levels of player engagement in its mechanics.

Well, safe to say Call of Duty has copied it - the COD battle pass will have a new look and feel for Warzone 2.0 when Season 1 drops.

It's going to have an unlock system where you earn tokens that let you choose what tiers and rewards to unlock - with pages of items that unlock as you reach certain levels or unlock a certain number of rewards.

This will give you a little more control over what you earn as you progress through it.

Warzone 2.0 new map

As revealed during Call of Duty: Next, there will be a new map in Warzone 2.0 - Al Mazrah, set in a fictional region of Western Asia.

As you can see above, it's a huge expanse (a tiny bit bigger than Caldera or Verdansk, from what we can tell using reference points), and contains a bunch of locations to explore. Dotted around the place are incredibly recognisable sections from iconic maps like Highrise and Terminal, making some areas more familiar.

It's also a location featured quite heavily in the campaign for Modern Warfare 2, so we'll doubtless learn more about its place in the wider story over time.

Water is a much bigger part of the map, too, meaning that boats and swimming will be key in some parts, as we'll discuss below.

There's some ambiguity over what will happen to the Resurgence maps currently in Warzone when the new version arrives - at launch, the expectation is that Rebirth Island and Fortune's Keep will both be absent, but we've been promised exciting news about smaller maps down the line in Warzone 2.0.

Reports indicate that a new Resurgence-size map is in development, with a launch planned for mid-2023 according to InsiderGaming.

This means that for a while you might be stuck with the full-size battle royale experience, but that's unlikely to be a permanent situation.

Warzone 2.0 gameplay changes

We know quite a lot about the gameplay changes coming to Warzone, since the changes that have arrived for Modern Warfare 2 should all apply to it as well - they share an engine.

This means that we'll be getting a visual upgrade, especially on newer consoles. That newer hardware will also get a 120Hz mode, allowing for improved smoothness and response times.

One huge change to the game's balance is that you'll no longer buy loadout drops to get full custom set-ups including perks and weapons. Instead, buy stations will now let you buy individual guns from your armoury at a higher cost, making it much more expensive to get geared up.

Sometimes loadout drops will spawn into the map as in-game events to be used by any and every team, though, making it a scramble to get your gear. Finally, you'll be able to earn loadouts by dropping into marked Strongholds and taking out the enemy AI within them to complete an objective.

Swimming has been added to the game and features heavily in the environment, along with boats. Vehicles are getting upgraded more widely to feature more detailed damage like punctures, and when they blow up they'll leave a permanent husk for cover. They also use fuel, and can be refuelled using looted canisters or by visiting a fuel station, where you can also repair them.

There will also be a new circle mechanic, with the appearance of multiple circles during matches, which will then merge together as the match moves to the endgame, which should be cool.

Oh, and there's Gulag 2.0 - with 2v2 play, plus a "Jailer" roaming the map. Killing this AI will let everyone in the gulag escape the match and return to the game. That's an interesting gambit, but we can't see many groups of four strangers being that cooperative with each other, to be honest.

The weaponry is modern but rooted in reality (at least at launch) with attachments that you can earn sometimes being applicable across different guns, a welcome change that should ease up the required grinding. Thankfully, a new firing range will make it easier to test how your build performs.

New equipment has arrived including remote cameras and EMP grenades, while you can now also dive into a prone position while you're sprinting if needed.

You can hang on ledges to peek over walls and barriers as you mantle over things, opening up new possibilities as you move around the map. There's also rappelling down buildings in MW2, although whether that'll come to Warzone is less sure.

Gunsmith has returned for weapon editing in Modern Warfare 2 and the level of detail has been be stepped up even further, letting you redistribute your weapon's weight for better recoil but worse aim-down-sight speed, among other tweaks.

From what could be seen at COD Next, the current player count being tested is 100, a smaller one than Warzone 1.0, but with potentially a few hundred AI soldiers on the battlefield for you to fight as you play, defending areas and objectives.

The inventory system is also quite a lot more complicated and needs a bit more management than in Warzone 1.0. This is partly based on the new DMZ mode, which we have more detail on below.

You can read about all these changes and more, plus get detailed information about Al Mazrah and more, on the Call of Duty site, which has a tonne of info to share.

Warzone 2.0 third-person mode

One interesting detail in that blog post is that Warzone 2.0, like Modern Warfare 2, will be bringing third-person gameplay into the mix.

This slight remix will have identical gameplay to the first-person Warzone experience, meaning it'll be an optional extra for those who like third-person shooters more.

It'll lead to some interesting differences given how you can sort of see round corners in this mode, and we'd anticipate players choosing their favourite camera versions.

What is DMZ in Warzone 2.0?

An all-new extraction mode is arriving with Warzone 2.0 - DMZ.

Familiar to players of games like Escape from Tarkov or Hunt Showdown, this mode will see teams drop into Al Mazrah with their own missions to complete - that might be to loot certain items or kill types of enemies, any number of objectives.

Rather than a pure battle royale, this will mean playing things carefully to ensure that you can get in and get out safely, carrying loot that will grant you rewards once you're done.

There are clips circulating of streamers trying the game mode out at Infinity Ward's headquarters, but we're still awaiting a full briefing on the mode.

However, you can learn everything important about DMZ in our dedicated article right here.



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