Back in 2020, Call of Duty: Warzone launched and made its mark on the battle-royale genre. A couple of years on and the widely popular, free-to-play standalone mode is still going strong. As Warzone transitions through its third Call of Duty title, it enters a new era dubbed "2.0", and we finally have the juicy details including the new map location and release date to share with you!
So, the question on all COD fans’ lips at the moment is obvious: when can we play Warzone 2.0? The all-new free-for-everyone experience drops on November 16th on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Battle.net and Steam.
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the end of the MWII Multiplayer trailer to see Warzone 2.0 in action:
Pretty epic trailer, right? The first thing you’ll have noticed in the trailer is the new setting, so let’s touch on that before anything else. Moving on from the current setting of Caldera, Warzone 2.0 takes players to an entirely new locale built from the ground up. Warzone 2.0 takes place in the desert of a fictional region of Western Asia called Al Mazrah and is packed to the brim with new POIs for you and your squad to explore.
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The trailer gives us a glimpse of the high-octane land, sea and air combat, as well as some new equipment, such as drones and proximity mines which are sure to spice up the skirmishes. Some large scale 32v32 maps from Modern Warfare II will also be nested into the Warzone 2.0 experience as POIs.
New Warzone 2.0 features include a circle mechanic, where multiple circles drastically change end-game antics. Furthermore a new AI faction will be introduced to Al Mazrah, helping to bring the map to life whilst also providing more realistic combat scenarios. It’ll be interesting to see how players adapt to AI factions and operators in Warzone 2.0, as it could go either way with the Call of Duty community. That’s not all though, as a new sandbox experience dubbed DMZ will also ship alongside Warzone 2.0.
You’ll also be glad to know that The Gulag is returning yet again, but with an upgrade! Gulag 2.0 will ship alongside Al Mazrah, in which players can battle it out in 2v2, and deal with "The Jailer" for surprises. How players can deal with this character remains to be seen; however I’m sure it’ll become a lot clearer as we creep closer to launch date.
With the launch of new-generation consoles, both Warzone 2.0 and Modern Warfare II have a shared engine, which is a first in Call of Duty history. The new engine builds on tech which debuted in 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot. The unified engine approach brings new technology, toolchains, refined AI and locomotion models. Activision have also reiterated their stance on cheaters and promise RICOCHET server protection and kernel-level driver will be coming on day one for both Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0.
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There’s no doubting Warzone’s success since its 2020 launch, but since then it has been a rollercoaster ride filled with ups and downs. It's about time the standalone mode got some care and attention from devs, especially since the Caldera launch failed to reignite players' love for the battle royale juggernaut. Here’s to hoping the unified engine approach, cross-play and Al Mazrah map restores Warzone to its former glory.
Warzone 2.0 is set to launch slightly after Modern Warfare II on November 16th, which means you’ll have plenty of time to grind out the main game’s multiplayer before hot dropping into the numerous POIs that await you in Al Mazrah. One thing is for sure, when Warzone 2.0 drops I’ll probably be seeing you in The Gulag.
Featured Image Credit: ActivisionTopics: Call Of Duty, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Call Of Duty Warzone