Archives by Day

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Release Date: Oct. 25, 2019

About Rainier

PC gamer, WorthPlaying EIC, globe-trotting couch potato, patriot, '80s headbanger, movie watcher, music lover, foodie and man in black -- squirrel!

Advertising

As an Amazon Associate, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.





'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare' (ALL) Season 5 Brings Major Map Changes, Four New Maps And More, Free Weekend

by Rainier on Aug. 4, 2020 @ 4:03 p.m. PDT

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare engulfs fans in an incredibly raw, gritty, provocative narrative that brings unrivaled intensity and shines a light on the changing nature of modern war.

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.

Get ready for an overloaded Season of complimentary content with the biggest Warzone map additions ever seen, four Multiplayer maps, new Operators, and a comprehensive Battle Pass system brimming with content, including two free weapons and other goods available to unlock.

As the chaos intensifies across Verdansk and the Armistice alliance becomes strained beyond its breaking point, a new force descends into the conflict. Shadow Company makes an explosively memorable entrance into the world of Modern Warfare, dropping in with style to make a statement and bolster the Allegiance, despite the company’s fireteam seemingly operating independently under their own set of rules.

Welcome to Season Five of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Developer Infinity Ward is stacking this update as the Warzone map will get its playspace expansion via the Stadium opening its doors, as well as the Train Station interior and a colossal, continuously moving freight train to claim as your mobile base of operations! But that’s not all - experience four new Multiplayer maps at launch: a new Ground War experience, two 6v6 maps, and a Gunfight map primed for frenetic combat.

Naturally, this mass of new content is backed up by new game modes for both Multiplayer and Warzone, as well as a robust Battle Pass system including a host of content you can earn for free.

Here’s a run-down of some of the new modes, maps, and other features that players can expect to see this Season: 

Warzone Content: Verdansk Opens Up

The Stadium Gets Cracked

As you might have gathered by now, the Acropolis National Arena (AKA Verdansk Stadium) is receiving a multitude of new visitors now that the Shadow Company announced their presence in an explosive, roof-based insertion. Time to retool your strategy and rethink your drop plans around this massive super-structure, complete with a pitch surrounded by rows of seating, an additional underground parking structure, a concession stand lobby as well as other multiple interior concourses and field access you can secure and compete to control.

The Train Station is Lit Up

The Stadium isn’t the only large-scale location getting interior access; the ornate and imposing Verdansk Train Station is also open for Operators. The station buildings feature a number of inside locations to explore; all linked to the main ticket hall and platforms. This significantly changes the overall look, feel, and tactical outlook in and around this area of the Warzone map.

Freight Train: On Track for Epic Confrontations

A hulking freight train is on a path of destruction, and it’s up to you and your fellow Operators to use this locomotive behemoth to your tactical advantage! The train rolls through one of the main arterial railroad tracks that circumnavigates the southwestern part of Verdansk in a large loop. It can be a source of protection, an epicenter of firefights, and even offers some exceptional takedown potential if your team claims the train for themselves, and guards it with additional vehicles and heavy weaponry.

Going Up in the World: Exterior Ascension

Need to take down a troublesome sniper? During past navigations through multi-floored building interiors (usually located in downtown Tavorsk District), you may have clamped onto a vertical zip line inside an elevator shaft to gain quicker access to the top of the structure. Now you can expect additional and strategically positioned Exterior Ascenders dotted throughout Verdansk. These will primarily be attached to the exterior of taller buildings, enabling you to gain a tactical and height advantage from a different angle, and with more haste than ever before.

Modes, Weapon Changes, and More Updates to Warzone 

  • Mini Royale: This condenses the craziest parts of the main Battle Royale mode into faster-paced chunks of chaotic and almost constant combat. Mini Royale lowers the number of Operators sent into Verdansk but quickens the BR experience: Only the first and last five minutes of a normal BR game exist meaning rapid deployment, constant movement, and high-kill strategies are set to yield victories that are both short and sweet.
  • Weapon Rotation: The weaponry you discover lying on the ground or in Supply Crates has been meticulously updated to potentially provide new pre-Loadout Drop weapon tactics for your squad. Expect eight Common, 13 Uncommon, 15 Rare, 19 Epic, and 25 Legendary variants to find throughout Verdansk.
  • Wartracks: Jam out to some sweet MW tunes while your cruising through Verdansk with Wartracks, available in the Battle Pass. Get three unique songs including the pulse pounding “Sepulchre” to amp up your Warzone experience. Equip one track to a specific vehicle in the Vehicle Customization menu (like Battle Horns), then as soon you hop in, the music gets turned up. Your entire squad can listen to the beat while you drive, and let the song guide you to your primary objective – survival.  All three tracks are instantly unlocked when you purchase the Battle Pass.

Free Access Multiplayer Extended Weekend:

Free-to-play Warzone users can experience Modern Warfare Multiplayer Friday August 7 at 10 AM PT to Wednesday August 12 at 10AM PT. Battle across five Multiplayer maps including Suldal Harbor and Petrov Oil Rig, both new this Season. The playlist will be a map mosh pit featuring a mix of deathmatch and objective modes giving the opportunity for varying engagements and tactical play each match.

Modern Warfare Content: New Free Maps, Modes, and More

Four Free Multiplayer Maps in New Environments

If you own the full version of Modern Warfare, we’ve upped the map content accordingly; expect to play four new maps in Season Five. These are all set to deliver brand new destinations and test your skills in all major modes from Gunfight to Ground War:

Livestock – Gunfight (Available at Season Launch)

Don’t let this bucolic pastoral farm environment fool you: This is the setting for some of the fastest and deliriously frenetic Gunfight battles yet seen in Modern Warfare

A rural compound set around a central barn structure, Operators can use hay bales and agricultural equipment scattered around the map as cover. A deceptively simple layout, you’ll discover a honeycomb of flank routes that take you in and around the barn, designed primarily for quick close-quarter combat.

Petrov Oil Rig – Multiplayer (Available at Season Launch)

Prepare for large 6v6 gun battles aboard a sprawling, operational oilrig in the frigid waters of a classified ocean location well away from the usual Modern Warfare locales. Recently abandoned due to ongoing hostilities between Coalition and Allegiance forces, the rig is surrounded by deep murky water, cargo ships, a docked submarine, other oil rigs, and distant glaciers.

This new map is divided into five distinct sections, with players starting on opposite ends of the rig; either at a lifeboat muster station or a helicopter landing pad. Other areas to explore include a central bridge, an interior cafeteria, oil storage, and the massive rig drill itself. 

Expect to engage in close to mid-range combat, with a few longer sightlines that give marksman or sniper rifles potential counter-play opportunities against their CQB and mid-distance counterparts.

Suldal Harbor – Multiplayer (Available at Season Launch)

Long-time veterans or map fanatics will recognize this map from the franchise's first ever Multiplayer experiences, while others will be introduced to this classic map for the first time here in Season Five. Set in a Middle Eastern harbor, this medium-sized 6v6 Multiplayer map has Operators weaving through a variety of dockside structures and scenery, including shipping areas, fish markets, and weather-beaten administrative buildings. This harbor is located within a large port city that boasts a medieval castle perched on a distant bluff, but there’s little time for sightseeing.

Enter the building interiors within the harbor if you’re attempting to flank or defend an objective, but don’t be caught off guard by ignoring your corners. The main flow of the map is dictated by the violence erupting at the choke points between the shipping areas and fish market locations.

This means those Operators bringing shotguns, SMGs, or assault rifles to the Harbor are likely to have an easier time outflanking their opponents, with longer ranged weaponry being more advantageous in a few key areas around the map. Need to hold one of those tight choke points and stop a foe from reaching their objective? You might want to pack a long-range rifle – assault, sniper, or marksman – with optional extended mags or an LMG.

Verdansk International Airport – Ground War (Available at Season Launch)

For those favoring large-scale combat, prepare to see Verdansk International Airport in a whole new light. Previously only accepting arrivals in Warzone, this Ground War map takes place in and around the airport. The zone encompasses the airport interior, parking garage, adjacent apartment complex and subway entrance, as well as the hangars along the eastern edge of the map.

No matter your style of play, there’s a place to gain the tactical advantage: If you favor running and gunning or close quarters combat, explore and battle across the airport itself, from the multi-floor mezzanine to the maintenance corridors and baggage claim carousel. Or head into the parking lot garage and take up a raised or hidden position within the burned-out vehicle wreckage. Consider taking up refuge inside one of the main building interiors and go to work. 

Favor more long-range sniping? Then stay on the rooftops, particularly on the apartment complex tenement buildings. Also expect emergent squad and gunplay moments to be created throughout the many exterior spaces and between capture points; amplified once you or your team utilizes the tanks and APCs on offer here.

Even More Free Content: Multiplayer Modes and Missions

Season Five is also set to deliver new game modes, as well as playlists, mosh pits, and other additional updates during the Season. Expected content includes:

  • Bare Bones: Ready to focus on pure, unadulterated combat? Then try out Bare Bones; a rotation of TDM, Domination, HQ, Hardpoint, and Kill Confirmed with the same rulesets as before, albeit with one important distinction: There are no Killstreaks, no Field Upgrades, and no perks.
  • Search and Destroy Double Down: This variant game mode features elements from the classic Search and Destroy; where one team must plant a demolition charge on an enemy weapons cache. Except this time the stakes are higher as the scale is bigger; this is a 12v12, not the usual 6v6. Expect tactics and chaos!
  • Season Five Missions and Challenges: Whether you’re playing Multiplayer or Warzone, the Challenges tab allows you to easily tailor your progression through the Season’s Ranks whether you’re focusing on Daily, Weekly, or Mission Challenges. Crave an even bigger Challenge for massive rewards? Over a dozen Mastery Challenges have been added across Warzone and Multiplayer for only the most elite players. In addition, don’t forget to visit the Barracks and check on your new Rank Progression section to see all Season Five’s ribbons and Officer Challenges. Focus on maxing out your Officer Ranks to earn a unique weapon blueprint.

Battle Pass System (Modern Warfare including Warzone) Content

Ready to Receive Two Free Weapons and More Complimentary Content?

The Season Five Battle Pass system enables you to obtain two new weapons: the ISO SMG (Tier 15) and the AN-94 assault rifle (Tier 31) that all players in Modern Warfare including Warzone can earn for free, just for playing the game.

Additionally, players can earn additional content, including emblems, stickers, calling cards, charms, a vehicle skin, a Compass watch, additional Call of Duty Points, and not to mention a number of free blueprints, one LMG, sniper rifle, marksman rifle, and assault rifle blueprint respectively.

All these items are across 20 Tiers of free content, available to be earned in the Battle Pass system just by playing.

Weapons Inspection: A First Look at Season Five’s Free New Armaments

Players can earn new weapons to utilize during the course of Season Five. Two are available for free within the Battle Pass system for all players:

ISO SMG (Free Battle Pass System Weapon)

A precision crafted 9mm sub machine gun with a rapid rate of fire. Lightweight, reliable and compact, this is designed to control the battlefield at close ranges.

AN-94 AR (Free Battle Pass System Weapon)

A cutting edge 5.45x39mm Russian assault rifle with a unique hyperburst feature: The initial shot of a full-auto volley is followed up by an instantaneous second round before significant recoil is felt. This creates a tightly grouped cluster of shots with increased damage potential. The mechanism is fed by a canted magazine and a reciprocating receiver helps control the recoil.

Level up all of these new weapons to find the best custom configurations for engagements in Multiplayer or Warzone in Gunsmith.

A Robust Collection of Content when you Purchase Battle Pass

When you purchase the Season Five Battle Pass, you can unlock up to 100 Tiers of exceptional new content, including up to 1,300 COD points (enough to buy the next season’s Battle Pass), and instant unlock - Lerch, the leader of the Shadow Company. Progress through the Battle Pass to earn Operator skins, blueprints, and more.

Battle Pass Instant Unlocks: 

  • New Operator: Lerch, Shadow Company (Tier 0): Lerch’s initial look – the Operator skin “Behemoth” – becomes increasingly tactical with the “Gargantua” and “Colossus” variants earned by completing his Operators Mission. Lerch is Shadow Company’s leader and a former MARSOC member who received a general discharge under honorable conditions. Barely. Thrives in the private sector where he operates under his own terms.
  • Wartracks (Tier 0): Get a trio of songs so you can listen to a variety of Modern Warfare music as you drive through Verdansk. The tracks include “Sepulchre”, an audio assault of bombastic metal previously heard from inside a Juggernaut suit.
  • Rodion Operator Skin and Mission (Tier 0): Rodion also shows his alliance to Shadow Company with the “Archangel” skin and Mission.
  • XP Boost (Tier 0): Get more XP for your efforts with this 10% XP boost that lasts the duration of the Season. 
  • Battle Pass Vehicle Highlights: Expect a dark and brooding look to many of the Battle Pass items in-keeping with the arrival of Shadow Company. These include a variety of vehicle skins like the “Tarrasch” (ATV) and “Siege Tower” (Cargo Truck). Continue your matte black vehicle collection with the “Night Ranger” (SUV) skin. Check out all the vehicle skins in the Battle Pass system and equip them in the Vehicle Customization menu.
  • Battle Pass Operator Skin Highlights: As well as Lerch’s evolving skin and Rodion’s “Archangel” outfit, expect a number of additional skins (with associated Operator Missions) as you progress through the Battle Pass. There’s the “Safeguard” Otter skin, “Lynx” Domino skin, Joint Task Force Mil-Sim skin, “Honcho” Yegor skin, “Pursuit Special” Wyatt skin, “Chill Pill” Syd skin, “Jackdaw” Talon skin, and the “Cut and Run” skin for Iskra. Lastly, if you’re wanting to defeat a foe with a savaging from the jet-black beak of an attack Raven, be sure to equip the “Nevermore” finisher!
  • Battle Pass Blueprint Weapon Highlights: As well as the previously listed free Blueprint weapons, you can earn many more additional Blueprints within the Battle Pass. These include a new melee blueprint, three handguns, two shotguns, three SMGs, two assault rifles, three LMGs, and a sniper rifle.
  • Battle Pass Tier 100: The ultimate Season Five Battle Pass reward is the “Rook” skin for Roze, as well as “The Veil” vehicle skin, and more. Shoot for “The Company’s Might”; negative tracer rounds for Assault Rifle Lima to fill your foes with fear as well as projectiles!

Choose your Battle Pass Path by purchasing one of the two variants:

  • Battle Pass: Purchase the Battle Pass for 1,000 CP, and you’re granted access to unlock the new Operator Lerch, up to 100 Tiers of content, and earn up to 1,300 CP (enough for next Season’s Battle Pass and some) back by playing the game. Head to the Battle Pass tab at the start of Season Five to get a look at all of the goods available to be unlocked this Season in the Battle Pass system. 
  • Battle Pass Bundle: Purchase the Battle Pass Bundle for 2,400 CP, which grants access to unlock all 100 tiers and gives you 20 immediately activated tier skips; a saving of 40% versus buying Battle Pass and 20 Tier Skips individually.

The Battle Pass and Battle Pass Bundle can be purchased at any time throughout the Season. If you purchase the Battle Pass Bundle later, it rewards players on all of their previous tier progression, instantly unlocking items that were behind locked tiers while advancing them 20 additional tiers up the Battle Pass system. 

New Operators and more in Store

Along with the revealed Operator skins, weapon blueprints, and other content, you can get even more content in Store throughout the Season

Get the details on two new Operators dropping in during Season Five:

  • Velikan (Allegiance / Shadow Company) – A shadow of a shadow. Tales of his exploits are written off as fairytales at best, and gross exaggerations at worst. Those who know him never speak ill of him. Whether it’s due to fear or respect, no one knows.
  • Morte (Coalition / Warcom) – A skilled tracker who loves the Old West and strongly adheres to his own rules regarding right and wrong. Served with the legendary Colonel Moschin paratrooper regiment in Italy before being selected to join Warcom. 

Locate Velikan and Morte bundles in Store later this Season.

Remember that purchasing or earning a new skin unlocks the Operator, if they aren’t already a part of your Coalition or Allegiance forces. So, expand your army and get new looks in Store and more throughout the Season.

Modern Warfare Free Trials Content

Earn Even More XP in Season Trials

Spend those Trial Tickets and test your skills in Trials: Solo experiences that hone your different warfare-related talents and offer XP for your efforts. Expect eight new Trials during this Season: 

  1. Gun Course (Hideout and Trench): Make your way through the course as quickly as possible while clearing all enemy targets and avoiding civilian casualties.
  2. Marksman Challenge (Grazna Raid): Engage waves of long distance targets and beat the clock. Missed shots burn time.
  3. Risky Parkour (Hackney Yard): Move through each checkpoint and finish the course as quickly as possible. Beware of the heavy toxic gas on low ground.
  4. Risky Parkour (Suldal Harbor): Collect all Dogtags to finish the course as quickly as possible. Beware of the heavy toxic gas on low ground.
  5. Quad Race (Euphrates Bridge): Race an ATV to the finish line for the fastest possible time.
  6. Price’s Alley (Guncourse): Practice your throwing skills with lethal equipment and reach as many targets as possible before time runs out.
  7. Shooting Range (Livestock): Locate and shoot all targets in the area as quickly as possible while conserving ammunition.
  8. Behind Enemy Lines (Hovec Sawmill): Live fire exercise. Find and eliminate all hostiles in the A.O. as quickly as possible.

Season Five: File Size and Download Instructions

Owners of the full version of Modern Warfare and free-to-play Warzone will have a decrease in overall footprint on console.

Please note that the Season Five update will have a download size of approximately 34-54 GB for owners of the full version of Modern Warfare and free-to-play Warzone who are up-to-date with the latest update.  

PlayStation 4: 33.9 GB

Xbox One: 49.8 GB

PC: 54.2 GB (Modern Warfare owners) and 47.4 GB (Warzone only owners)

Once the new Season of content has been integrated into your game, and provided you had the update prior to Season Five installed, Modern Warfare will have a decrease in overall footprint on console.

A reminder, console players can choose also to uninstall/remove other data packs if no longer needed for a smaller overall file size. For detailed information on uninstalling/removing other data packs, read this article.

Time to Upgrade to the Full Experience

Are you still waiting to drop into the full version of Modern Warfare? Then get the Modern Warfare Battle Pass Edition, and experience everything from a thrilling Campaign, a suite of Multiplayer maps, to a variety of fraught Special Operations designed to test your mettle and continue the narrative through challenging team-based experiences.

The digital Battle Pass edition of the comes with the following:

  • The full Modern Warfare game
  • 3,000 CP – enough for the Season Five Battle Pass Bundle and more
  • Battle Pass system with over 20 free unlockable tiers*
  • A Combat Knife with a custom skin
  • XRK Weapons Pack

Visit CallofDuty.com, select the Modern Warfare Battle Pass Edition, your preferred platform, and region to get the game. Download to start playing.  

Get locked and loaded, and ready yourself for a cavalcade of new content available as part of Modern Warfare Season Five.

Stay frosty.

Season Five launches on August 5th.

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.


More articles about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
blog comments powered by Disqus