Gaming

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is coming to PC and consoles on November 16. During the Call of Duty: Next event on Thursday, Activision revealed the latest chapter, or extension, to their free-to-play battle royale title Warzone. Billed as a “fully revamped experience,” Warzone 2.0 features a massive new map, a new Gulag mode, and other improvements. Furthermore, the publisher confirmed a Warzone mobile game, dropping 120 players onto the arena, in a fight for survival — launching sometime in 2023.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0

Like the previous entry, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 will be free-to-play, with soldiers dropping into the “biggest” battle royale map ever. Al Mazrah is a meticulously crafted arena, built from the ground up, featuring coastal towns, deserts, rocky peaks, and an entire city to explore. Players might recognise this map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 remake — launching October 28 — serving a crucial role in the game’s campaign mode. Set in Western Asia, the map introduces combat on land, air and sea, presenting new challenges and scouting opportunities, as you circle around enemies via a motorboat or a chopper. As per Activision, the vehicles can also be customised with skins.

In time, a choking storm gradually envelops the Al Mazrah map. But unlike the original Warzone, the wall of vapour will be erratic, owing to bad weather conditions, resulting in multiple smaller safe zones/ circles. This would force players to come out of their hiding space, and think of a new strategy. Shops are also returning to the game, letting players bring back a dead squadmate, purchase equipment, and load up on upgrades for their firearms.

The Gulag is changing as well, as Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 introduces 2v2 match-ups, before being revived and dropped back into the game. Optionally, players can hunt down AI jailers, who hold the key to the prison cells, and escape free of combat. Any items or gear you loot from the prison is carried over to the main game, upon revival.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 launches November 16, on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and Battle.net.

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile

Like its mainline counterpart, Warzone Mobile will let 120 online players drop onto the map, in each play session. Activision notes there will be some connection between the two new versions of Warzone, such as social features (friends and chat) and cross-progression, enabling a shared battle pass system. Furthermore, the title is expected to host mobile-specific events, playlists, and content, with “deep customisation options.” As for the new Al Mazrah map, the blog post notes that it won’t be available at launch.

Pre-registrations for Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile are now live on Android, ahead of its anticipated worldwide launch on Android and iOS devices in 2023.