To no one’s surprise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0 were the highlights of the said event. But, while we expected both shooters to appear, fans were still treated to a bunch of fun and exciting content that’s coming to both games on October 28 and November 16, respectively. Here’s a quick round-up to help you make sense of every big announcement that Activision made at this year’s Next event:
Say Hello to Warzone 2.0
Warzone 2.0 is the highly anticipated sequel to the massive free-to-play battle royale first-person shooter, Warzone. Unlike the first title, Warzone 2.0 will take place on a new map, Al Mazrah, that features a wide and sprawling desert with a city landscape. In addition to the dozens of points of interest for you to explore and drop into, Al Mazrah will change up the Gulag concept. Instead of just fighting your way out in 2v2 matches, the new Gulag will throw in a prowling warden and scatter weapons around the map to up the ante. Warzone 2.0 will also change the traditional battle royale formula by introducing multiple circles. This way, separate groups of players can congregate across various points across the map before they all meet for one or two climactic fights to be the last man standing. Similar to Warzone, Warzone 2.0 will come with all the weapons released for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and will feature cross-progression with the upcoming mainline Call of Duty game. Finally, Warzone 2.0 will have a new mode, DMZ. The high-intensity extraction-based mode will see players enter a battlefield and scavenge as much gear as possible.
Modern Warfare II vs older Call of Duty games
Modern Warfare II is billed as the “savior” of Call of Duty after two relatively down years. So far, Activision Blizzard and Infinity Ward are doing everything they can to make sure that it delivers. One of the main draws of Modern Warfare II is the Loadout 2.0 system, which improves on the same weapon customization system used by 2019’s Modern Warfare. The Loadout system for Modern Warfare II makes it easier for players to customize gear by grouping the same weapon platforms together, among other features. Also, Modern Warfare II will refine several movement mechanics such as sprinting, mantling, and swimming. Not to mention, Modern Warfare II will also bring back improved versions of the third-person multiplayer playlists and the co-op Spec Ops mode. Modern Warfare 2 will even have AI players on larger maps and modes to try and change things up. According to Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare II will have a new mode. Unfortunately, Infinity didn’t have much to share about “Raids” during the presentation.
What’s included in the Modern Warfare II beta?
The ongoing Modern Warfare II beta lets PlayStation owners who pre-ordered the game try out the 6v6 mode and Ground War mode (16v16). The latter is particularly interesting as they’ll take place inside some of the points of interest in Warzone 2.0. The beta will also include three core multiplayer maps (Valderas Museum, Farm 18, and Mercado Las Almas) and the Sarrif Bay Ground War map. Other includes in the Modern Warfare II beta include tactical modes like Knockout and Prisoner rescue (limited respawns) as well as Invasion (32v32 with AI combatants). Speaking of Call of Duty, it appears that the public spat between Jim Ryan and Phil Spencer isn’t over yet. The UK government is conducting an “in-depth investigation” of Microsoft’s planned $69 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard.
