Call Of Duty R1 Shadowhunter Live Now, But Having Issues

Update: The R1 Shadowhunter has officially released, but some players are having issues equipping the weapon once it was purchased from a bundle. Raven Software is investigating the issue and will share more information shortly.

Original story follows...

The R1 Shadowhunter crossbow was recently made available in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone, but this was accidental. It wasn't supposed to actually release until later this season, and Activision has removed the weapon from both games. It's also issuing refunds to those who grabbed it during this brief period. It's since been confirmed that the R1 Shadowhunter crossbow is indeed launching this week, on March 24.

Activision shared the news on its official support Twitter page, saying the bundle that included the weapon will be returned to the store at "a later date," along with an associated challenge. We now know the new date is March 24, so it's only a couple of days away from arriving.

Prior to it being removed, the weapon was available for stealth-minded players. It fired silent crossbow bolts, letting you take out targets without alerting others in the area. This would be especially useful in Warzone, where alerting others to your position is often the difference between life and death. Getting the weapon in Cold War, at least during the initial accidental release, was possible by getting a series of the One Shot, One Kill in 15 games, so players who have been playing for months will likely be able to get it fairly quickly when it comes back.

Plenty of new content did come to the game on purpose recently. A recent update added several different weapon bundles, and an assault rifle that appears to have a dragon spitting out a gun barrel. That weapon, part of the NecroKing Mastercraft Bundle, is available now. Zombies continue to spread across Verdansk in Warzone, as well, adding another wrinkle to the game's ever-changing story. It hasn't gotten as goofy as something like Fortnite, but the developers certainly seem committed to keeping the battle royale game fresh.