CoD: Modern Warfare's Warzone Confirmed And It's Coming Very Soon

Update: Beyond all this, a gameplay video has leaked, confirming many details about what to expect from the mode. The official Call of Duty Twitter account has since teased the release of the new mode to come on Tuesday, March 10. Subsequently, Activision officially announced Call of Duty: Warzone for release today--here's exactly when you can download it.

Original story follows...

Since the beginning of the game's second season, Activision has been teasing what could be a battle royale mode for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The new mode has not actually been announced yet, but we're pretty sure it's happening, since players keep glitching their way into it. A recent update for Modern Warfare doesn't introduce the mode, but its release could be imminent. More potential details have emerged, including a reported release target that is fast approaching.

VGC recently reported that the mode is targeting an early March release, which was expected to mean either March 3 or March 10 since Modern Warfare updates hit on Tuesdays. The release will replace the currently gray-redacted area that was added to the main menu upon the Season 2 launch. With the March 3 patch out, we're now waiting for at least another week (and maybe more) for Warzone, but at least you can occupy yourself with the new Tamagotchi-esque item in the meantime.

At the same time, the battle royale mode will reportedly be released as a free standalone game, which will give players the option to upgrade to the full Modern Warfare. The report also claims it will use the same battle pass as the main game, letting you progress through and earn cosmetics in any of the game's modes. None of this has been officially confirmed by Activision or Infinity Ward, though.

In-game, Warzone is said to support up to 200 players in a game, broken into squads. Similar to Apex Legends, it will use a ping mechanic. Existing Modern Warfare players will recognize some areas of the map from its large Ground War mode.

It will also reportedly include a new "Plunder" currency that can be spent for gear, but you'll also drop your own plunder if you're holding when you're taken down. You can bank Plunder to save the loot for future matches, but starting the process will alert other players that you're a rich target. Death doesn't count you out of a match entirely and instead puts you into a "Gulag" where you'll fight 1v1 against another player to return to the match. This is quite different from the system used in any other popular, mainstream battle royale.

GameSpot has contacted Activision Blizzard for clarification.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare recently kicked off its Season 2, with a huge patch that prompted an apology from the developer. The new season brought back the popular character Ghost, but the bigger surprise was a story trailer that showed Ghost calling for backup in a crowded battlefield. That was the first clue of a battle royale mode, though players appearing to glitch into the menu and map have added much more fuel to the fire since then.

Call of Duty has dabbled in the genre before, with the popular Blackout mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.