Prepare to go dark, Modern Warfare is back!

The stakes have never been higher as players take on the role of lethal Tier One operators in a heart-racing saga that will affect the global balance of power.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will make its return in a powerful experience reimagined from the ground-up, engulfing players in a modern-day conflict, where split-second decisions could affect the global balance of power.

In the gripping and dramatic single-player story campaign, players will immerse themselves in a visceral narrative that shines a light on the changing nature of modern war. Alongside a cast of international special forces and freedom fighters, fans take the role of tier one operators in a saga that will affect the global balance of power. Additionally, picking up where the Campaign ends is the cooperative Special Ops mode where players can team up in strike-teams of four. Special Ops advances the overarching Modern Warfare lore with multiple ways to play co-op, including Operations, the largest and most involved experience with multi-phased objectives, and the more curated Classic Special Ops, to test your performance with weapons, munitions and other tools.

And the story doesn’t end there.

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, players will be thrust into an immersive narrative spanning the entire game. Players can experience the ultimate online playground with classic multiplayer or squad-up and play cooperatively in a collection of elite operations, accessible to all skill levels.

Activision has released the number of players that have dropped in to play Call of Duty: Warzone in the first 24 hours. 6 million! 

Call of Duty is serving up a new massive combat experience with the game-changing, free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzon!

Warzone is an all-new experience from the world of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, where up to 150 players can squad up with friends and drop into a massive online combat arena packed with non-stop action and endless fun. At launch, players will team up and fight as a trio across two epic modes, which includes a new take on the popular all-out survival Battle Royale mode with new and innovative ways to play, and an all-new original mode called Plunder, where teams battle to collect the most in-match Cash.

The World of Warzone: Battle Royale and Plunder

At launch, players can squad up in trios with their friends on PS4, Battle.net for PC, or Xbox One across two game modes: Battle Royale and Plunder.

In Battle Royale, fight to be the last squad standing while escaping the deadly gas in the swiftly closing circle with up to 150 players.

In Plunder, the race is on to collect the most in-match Cash by looting across the map, taking down enemies to steal their Cash, and completing in-match Contracts. 

Warzone takes place in Verdansk, an expansive city with multiple named zones and well over 300 points of interest. Each zone features distinct landmarks like the Gorengard Lumber Yard or the Gora Dam; the zones take place across different environment types like cities and rural areas for unique engagements. Change up your drop location in each match to get a better lay of the land and take advantage of what Verdansk has to offer.

Need to escape the gas in the closing circle or get to another zone? Take a vehicle. 

The Vehicles of Warzone 

If you need to get somewhere fast in Warzone, the best method is a vehicle. There are five vehicles all with varying levels of protection, speed, seating, and off-roading capability. Each vehicle has a health meter and when it reaches zero, the vehicle explodes and flames out. Needlessly to say, if the health of your vehicle is depleting, bail out before the impending explosion. 

Here’s an overview of the five vehicle types that are populated throughout the world in Warzone:

• ATV – two seater, provides minimal protection, good at offroading, fast.
• Tactical Rover – four seater, provides minimal protection, solidly fast, solid at off-roading.
• SUV – four seater, provides good protection, medium speed, not ideal for off-roading.
• Cargo Truck – holds the squad plus equipment, excellent protection, not for off-roading, slowest.
• Helicopter – four seater, decent coverage, flies.

The Mechanics of the Warzone 

Warzone features some unique mechanics that keep each match interesting and give you plenty of strategies to try for a new experience every time you drop in. 

Here’s a list of some of the new and game-changing mechanics players will find in a Warzone match:

The Gulag (only in Battle Royale)

Upon your first elimination, you will be taken as a “Prisoner of Warzone” and thrown into the Gulag. There you will await your fate and watch other prisoners fight to the death. When your turn is up, you’ll enter the Gulag and face-off against a single opponent in a 1v1 to earn the ultimate reward - redeployment. Win in the Gulag and earn redeployment back into Verdansk. Lose and hope that your squad completes Contracts and earns enough in-match Cash to redploy you. 

Contracts

Contracts are objective oriented tasks players can find and activate across Verdansk. A squad can activate one Contract at a time and completing it rewards you in-match Cash and other loot items. Multiple types of Contracts exist including Scavenger Contracts where you have to find and open a series of Supply Boxes and Recon Contacts where you must secure one location, similar to Call of Duty’s Domination mode. In addition to in-match Cash, Contracts can give you special rewards like the ability to see the next circle collapse location before it starts to close. 

Buy Stations

In Battle Royale where collecting in-match Cash isn’t the objective, Cash can be used to procur beneficial items at Buy Stations. Denoted on the Tac-Map with a shopping cart icon, head to a Buy Station to spend your in-match Cash. For varying prices, you can purchase Killstreaks, Redeploy Tokens to bring back fallen teammates, Self-Revive Kits, and more.

In Plunder, Buy Stations hold all of these items to help you gain an advantage over other teams, plus a unique game mode item – the Cash Deposit Balloon. Want to securely deposit your in-match Cash, away from the threat of enemy teams trying to kill and steal? Get a Cash Deposit Ballon, a portable Field Upgrade, that allows you to deposit Cash, from anywhere.

Seamless Play

Call of Duty: Warzone shares Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s crossplay and unified progression. For players that already own the full version of Modern Warfare, all content already earned including Battle Pass items, Operators, weapons and customization items will carry over to Warzone, and all progression earned in Warzone will counts toward overall Modern Warfare progression. For players who do not own the full version of Modern Warfare, all progress and items they’ve earned in Warzone will be rewarded across Multiplayer and Special Ops in Modern Warfare, should they ever choose to purchase it. 

There are no level caps in Warzone. Jump in.

In-Depth Information On Downloading

For owners of the full version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Warzone will replace the previously named ‘Classified’ panel in the Main Menu. A one-time early access will give Modern Warfare owners the ability to download Warzone at 8AM PDT. For Modern Warfare owners who are current and have the most recent title updates, the download will be a 18-22GB. Once download is complete, Modern Warfare owners will “unlock” the Warzone panel, which was previously classified, and can enter the lobby and play. 

For non-owners of the full version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Warzone will be available to download free in respective first-party stores starting as early as 12 PM PDT. Head to the store and search for ‘Warzone.’ Choose Call of Duty: Warzone to download. Warzone is a 83-101GB download for new, free-to-play users. Download could take up to several hours depending on bandwidth, service provider, additional regional factors and will vary by platform.

You do not need to own the full version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare to download, play and enjoy Warzone. Call of Duty: Warzone is free for everyone.

Look for specific information and more download details later today on the Games Blog. 

Experience Warzone - cross-platform, free-to-play, and free-for-everyone on March 10!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare features a new engine delivering an immersive and photo-realistic experience across the entire game. The new technology utilizes the latest advancements in visual engineering, including a physically-based material system allowing for state-of-the-art photogrammetry, a new hybrid tile based streaming system, new PBR decal rendering system, world volumetric lighting, 4K HDR, DirectX Raytracing (PC) and more as well as a new GPU geometry pipeline. Spectral rendering delivers thermal heat radiation and infrared identification for both thermal and night-vision in-game imaging. The technical investment made provides a cutting-edge animation system and blend shape system, while the new suite of audio tools allows for full Dolby ATMOS support, on supported platforms, along with the latest in audio simulation effects.

Modern Warfare multiplayer delivers a thrilling and game-changing online experience with best-in-class down the barrel gameplay, along with an all-new level of strategic and tactical play. Players can jump into new play spaces that redefine Call of Duty multiplayer, from quick-action, close-quarters 2 vs. 2 experiences in Gunfight, traditional 6 vs. 6 multiplayer gameplay, modes that support 10 vs. 10 and 20 vs. 20 firefights, along with high-player count maps and combat, such as the all-new Ground War, an epic large-scale mode supporting more than 100-players. And, that’s just the beginning for Modern Warfare fans.

With a complete weapon overhaul and the most choices in Call of Duty history, players will be able to outfit their multiplayer operators for every combat encounter, with unprecedented customization and modifiability in the new Gunsmith system. Modern Warfare features cutting-edge visuals, authentic sound design, with realistic recoil and weapon ballistics throughout the game. In addition, gameplay mechanics, including bullet penetration, gun mounting, door breaching and night vision multiplayer gameplay maps featuring night vision goggles (NVGs), allow for an amazing tactical experience.

Activision also confirmed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will have no season pass, and that it will feature cross play between Xbox One, PS4 and PC platforms.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare features a fully-optimized PC version, developed in partnership with Beenox, which will be available exclusively on Blizzard Battle.net

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is currently available worldwide on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.