Warzone 2 Release Date & Updates + Gameplay ⁠Details & Modern Maps

Original Call of Duty battle royale Warzone took the gaming world by storm in 2020, dominating headlines and gamer interest ever since. With its huge popularity, it certainly made sense for Activision to eventually green light Warzone 2.

That time has now come⁠—Call of Duty bosses have called for a Warzone sequel, and development has finally roared to life at Infinity Ward headquarters.

Here’s absolutely everything we know about Warzone 2.

Warzone 2 release date

Activision has yet to rubber-stamp an official Warzone 2 release date, but expect a 2023 launch for the Call of Duty battle royale’s long-awaited follow-up. Franchise publishers have confirmed the game will “come with Modern Warfare 2.”

Whether this means the two Infinity Ward games will release at the same time or will be spaced out is not confirmed⁠—we’ll update you once we know anything more.

Warzone 2 gameplay ⁠details

One major feature of shipping any sequel is upgrading the original title’s gameplay and features, and Warzone 2 is expected to be no different. Infinity Ward is being given the chance to rebuild the battle royale’s engine from scratch here, which should alleviate many of the bugs and errors from the current version.

Insiders have reported there will be “no past weapon integrations” either, which means the current arsenal of Modern Warfare 2019, Black Ops Cold War, Vanguard, and Modern Warfare 2 (on its way) will not be available.

The new game will be “built from the ground up” with a “new play space and new sandbox mode,” as well as its own selection of classic Call of Duty weapons.

Modern Warfare 2 maps in Warzone 2

One thing we do already know about the planned Warzone sequel is it will be built around Modern Warfare 2. That means many of its launch POIs will be based on old Modern Warfare maps⁠—think Blackout’s Black Ops 4 theme in 2018. This could include Favela, Highrise, Terminal, and plenty more.

Current CoD battle royale maps like Verdansk and Caldera are likely to take a back seat heading into the sequel too. Expect a full new map for Warzone 2.

What platforms will Warzone 2 be on?

Dot Esports expects the upcoming CoD battle royale to leave all current-gen consoles when focus shifts to its sequel title⁠—Warzone 2 will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, by all accounts.

Graphical upgrades are a safe bet if this holds true, but performance could also be improved for console players with features like the highly requested FOV slider.

It’s worth taking this particular claim with a grain of salt for now though. We know for certain that Modern Warfare 2 is set to launch across both current and previous-gen hardware. If Warzone 2 is indeed being developed alongside MW2, this could be indicative of a similar launch across all consoles.

Warzone Updates

Starting with Call of Duty: Warzone, Rebirth Island is getting its biggest map update since launch and it will visually look different, too, with sunnier and clearer skies to help with visibility. Multiple new points of interest have been added or updated, including Stronghold, and a brand-new location known as Dock.

At Dock, players will find two new large supply ships that players can explore to find and unlock items in Supply boxes. Players can walk across a gangplank to access the ships or execute some parkour moves to gain access; or they can drop in from above.

Warzone is also bringing back the Payload, Blood Money, and Resurgence Solo modes through the weekly featured playlists, which will also host the classic Rebirth modes. An event called Rebirth Island Reinforced is coming as well, and it will offer special rewards.

Vanguard
In Call of Duty: Vanguard, players can look forward to a new 12v12 mode called Arms Race. This mode is set on a new large-scale map and calls on players to capture and hold bases. Vanguard also introduces new vehicles, including the motorcycle, the CD12 Transport four-seater, and the powerful Tank.

Season 2 Reloaded also introduces new rewards for Ranked play, while Zombies mode gets new Covenants and the long-awaited ability to pause.

New Operators
New Operators are coming Call of Duty: Warzone and Vanguard in the Season 2 Reloaded update as well, including Gustavo Dos Santos and the aforementioned Snoop Dogg.

“Gustavo returned to his homeland to deliver this intelligence, then joined the ‘the Smoking Cobras,’ (also known as the Brazilian Expeditionary Force) to become a true hero in Northern Italy,” Activision said. “He prefers using CQB weaponry, especially the prototypical Armaguerra 43 he gained mastery with during his time in the Mediterranean. The only thing sharper than his wit is his deadly accuracy with all weaponry.”

The Armaguerra 43 SMG is coming to Season 2 Reloaded mid-season, and it is the fastest-firing SMG in Warzone and Vanguard. Not only that, but its effective range is better, too. To balance it out, the Armaguerra 43 has high recoil and low damage. Players can unlock the new gun by completing a challenge or purchasing it directly when it arrives sometime in Season 2 Reloaded.

What Gameplay Changes Can We Expect from Warzone 2?

All we know about Warzone 2 is that Tom Henderson, a prolific Call of Duty leaker, has reported that it will be a “clean slate” for the Battle Royale. It will likely, as we just discussed, get a new map, but will also not integrate any of the gameplay or features from previous Call of Duty games or versions of Warzone. That means no gameplay features from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, nothing from Modern Warfare (2019), nothing from Vanguard and nothing from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022).

We expect that, seeing as this is a Call of Duty: Warzone game, it will be a Battle Royale. We also assume that they will, much like they did with the Vanguard integration, add some cool new features. With Vanguard, we got aeroplanes and the new Caldera Map, with Black Ops Cold War we got Rebirth Island and then the Nuke Event, so surely there will be some big changes coming when Raven Software release an entirely new version of Warzone.

Is there going to be Warzone 2?

A Modern Warfare sequel is still on track for 2022, though Treyarch’s next game is reportedly delayed a year. For the first time since 2004, it looks like Call of Duty will go a year without a mainline game in the series in 2023.

Will Warzone 2 be free-to-play?

Activision to Support Modern Warfare 2 With Warzone 2 & Free To Play Title.

What do we know about Warzone 2?

One thing we do already know about the planned Warzone sequel is it will be built around Modern Warfare 2. That means many of its launch POIs will be based on old Modern Warfare maps⁠—think Blackout’s Black Ops 4 theme in 2018. This could include Favela, Highrise, Terminal, and plenty more.

Will season 2 Warzone have a new map?

Starting with Call of Duty: Warzone, Rebirth Island is getting its biggest map update since launch and it will visually look different, too, with sunnier and clearer skies to help with visibility. Multiple new points of interest have been added or updated, including Stronghold, and a brand-new location known as Dock.