Modern Warfare Season 2 Could Be Teasing Rumored Warzone Battle Royale Mode

Update: To further the battle royale rumors, players have apparently managed to glitch their way into the menu for Modern Warfare's rumored battle royale mode. Further leaks have confirmed new details, and what looks like a Warzone countdown clock suggests it will release on March 10.

Original story follows...

Infinity Ward hasn't confirmed or denied a battle royale mode is coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, but the new cinematic intro for Season 2 has teased that such a mode could possibly be on its way. If you haven't had enough time to download Season 2's massive update, you can check out the intro below. For what it's worth, the way Activision has been talking about 2020's Call of Duty makes us think that Treyarch may be developing this year's entry in the franchise--and giving the game a battle royale focus.

In terms of Modern Warfare's developing story, not all that much happens. Perhaps the most notable event is the return of Ghost, who sneakily shows up at the end of the cinematic to radio in that he's going to need some help to get out of the messy situation that he's found himself in.

All that said, that sure looks like a dangerous perimeter that's closing in around you, Ghost. And those players certainly seem to be parachuting out of an airplane towards you, Ghost. And it definitely looked like you were approaching a dead body in order to stealthily loot it, Ghost. Kind of makes one think that you may be playing in a battle royale, Ghost.

That's not the only clue that something big might be coming either. Although it's not listed in the Season 2 patch notes, Modern Warfare's title screen has changed. The options to go into Campaign, Multiplayer, Co-Op, and the Store are still there, but now there's a new fifth option too. Currently, you can't click on it--the game doesn't even give the fifth mode a name. All the information is "classified." You can see the new title screen in the image embedded below.

A battle royale mode isn't new for Call of Duty, though this would be the first time it's been added to a game in the Modern Warfare series. Call of Duty's first battle royale, Blackout, was included in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, replacing the series' traditional single-player campaign. Even though Season 2 is live, not all of the content will be available on day one. Maybe we can expect a new battle royale mode to release partway through the season.

We enjoyed Call of Duty's first attempt at a battle royale, so we'd welcome Modern Warfare's take on the genre (if one is actually coming). When talking about Blackout in GameSpot's Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 review, Kallie Plagge wrote, "The combination of Call of Duty-specific mechanics with PUBG-style health, loot, and shooting systems is executed well, with quality-of-life improvements to UI--notably, you can quick-equip weapon attachments without going into your menu. The twists are balanced, too, and the Specialist equipment, in particular, doesn't make things feel unfair. Like in multiplayer, you can ignore anything you don't want to bother with, and survival ultimately comes down to your situational awareness, your skill with various weapons, and a bit of luck with looting and the circle. That makes victory feel earned and, as a result, immensely gratifying--Blackout definitely captures the tense, shaky excitement that makes battle royale such a popular genre."

As rumors of a new battle royale mode for Modern Warfare swirl, the GameSpot team sat down to talk about what we even want from a new battle royale game in 2020.