Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Warzone: Will battle royale release this week?
Gameplay of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s rumored battle royale, Warzone, leaked prematurely. It has since been removed, but the cat is out of the bag.
Rumors of a battle royale mode for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare have persisted for a few weeks now, but this weekend, a prematurely leaked gameplay video essentially confirmed it all. A now-removed video from prominent YouTuber Chaos offered an 11-minute breakdown of the mode courtesy of a recent preview event held at Infinity Ward’s offices.
The video confirms that Warzone will indeed be free-to-play as well as cross-platform. In other words, you won’t need to purchase Modern Warfare to download and play it, although those who do own the latest installment will get exclusive character skins and customized weapons.
The core concept of Warzone will be similar to other battle royale games. Players are dropped onto an island with a slowly shrinking perimeter. The goal is to remain the last one standing. The mod will reportedly support up to 150 players, although Chaos said it could be expanded up to 200 in the future. The mode will allow for single, duo and three-person squads.
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The map, which has been leaked previously, will exist as a blend of iconic maps from other Infinity War titles, including Broadcast, Overgrown, Scrapyard and Terminal.
One of the key differences between Warzone and other battle royale games is the respawn system. Reviving teammates isn’t anything new, of course, but Chaos revealed a unique mechanic called the Gulad. This was previously leaked and reported by Video Games Chronicle to be a sort of prison arena system that allows players to respawn into the match.
"Players will reportedly be able to obtain respawn tokens which place downed teammates in the gulag with other defeated players. Imprisoned players then queue for a chance to respawn into battle by winning a 1v1 duel. At some point during the match, the gulag will close and no longer be usable, thus preventing respawns, it’s claimed."
Alternatively, there seems to be an in-game currency that players can spend at a Buy Station kiosk to revive a teammate. It costs about $4,500 to do so, according to Chaos.
Activision and Infinity Ward have yet to formally announce Warzone for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which is presumably why the video has been taken down. It was likely posted ahead of an embargo. Looking at the mix up, it’s very possible Warzone could be unveiled later today and possibly release tomorrow, March 10, as expected.