Warzone 2: Everything You Need To Know | Released Date, New Map & More

Warzone 2 is fast approaching. In fact, we already have a release date for it. So let's take a look at everything we know about Warzone 2.0.

Warzone 2
Hype. | © Activision

Warzone 2.0 will be the successor of the current Battle Royale hit Warzone and is coming sooner than expected. To keep you up to date, we have collected all the important information about the upcoming Warzone 2 in this article, including gameplay, maps, release date, weapons and more. Everything you need to know about Warzone 2 can be found here.

The original Warzone was developed by Infinity Ward, but development got handed over to Raven Software, who now has total creative control, after Infinity Ward started development on Modern Warfare II (2022). Although, the original Warzone will now be renamed Warzone Caldera, and this is where you will be able to play old maps if you want to, as none of them are coming into Warzone 2.

Warzone 2.0: New Features

Warzone 2, apart from a new map, will also offer some new gameplay features. So far we know about the following new features:

New Movement Mechanics

Since Warzone 2 is closely connected to Modern Warfare II, some new mechanics from MWII will also appear in Warzone 2. It has already been confirmed that we will finally be able to swim and fight underwater in Warzone. Vehicles will also be able to be driven in or on the water, which will provide much more gameplay depth. We will also be able to hang from ledges and use our sidearm while doing so, and the popular Dolphin Dive will return.

2v2 Gulag

The Gulag is of course back, but in Warzone 2 it will be played 2v2 and there will be the possibility to loot weapons and interact with an NPC called "The Jailer". Both teams can actually choose to fight the jailer instead of each other, and if they kill the jailer then all four players can return to the match. Here we have already summarized everything about the 2v2 Gulag.

Circle Splitting

It is also already confirmed that the circle in Warzone 2.0 will split into three smaller separate circles during the course of the game, which will only reunite at the very end of the match and lead to a final battle between the remaining squads. This should provide more excitement and, above all, more possibilities at the end of a match.

Warzone 2 0 circle
This is how the circle splits. | © Activision

It's yet to be seen how popular circle-splitting will be...

New Vehicle Mechanics

Of course, Warzone 2.0 also features numerous vehicles again, which bring some new mechanics. We'll be able to lean out of windows to shoot and can also climb onto the roof of the vehicle while driving to fire at enemies from there. In addition, for the first time, vehicles in Warzone 2.0 will also react differently to gunfire, explosions, etc., depending on their armor and weight. It is also interesting that the tires of cars can now be destroyed, but also repaired, and most vehicles have a tank that empties while driving and must be refueled at gas stations distributed on the map.

AI, Strongholds & Black Sites

On the Al Mazrah map, there is also an AI faction that patrol the map and protect Strongholds and Black Sites. The AI soldiers won't actively pursue you, so you have the choice whether to attack them or not. If you manage to capture a stronghold, you'll be rewarded with some decent loot and get an item that allows you to buy one of your custom weapons for free at a buying station.

Black Sites are just a more dangerous form of Strongholds, but they offer a permanent Weapon Blueprint reward and even more valuable in-match items for those who clear it out. These are available only via a Black Site key, given to the first team that clears one of the active Strongholds.

3rd-Person Modes

Warzone 2 will also have 3rd-person modes, much like Modern Warfare 2 now does. Here is what it will look like:

3rd person modes
You can swap shoulders by clicking the left stick while ADSing. | © Activision

We don't know whether these modes will be permanent or temporary yet.

New Weapons

Here are the new weapons coming with Warzone 2's launch (in addition to all the weapons from Modern Warfare 2)

WeaponClassPlatformRelease How To UnlockOfficial Description
Victus XMRSniper RifleImperatoriumLaunch (November 16)Battle PassHard hitting, bolt action sniper rifle with .50 cal BMG ammunition. Its tungsten sabot tipped bullets are fast and powerful, but require precise shots over long distances.
BAS-PSMGBruen OpsLaunch (November 16)Battle PassAn aggressive fire rate and modular frame make the BAS-P perfect for the discerning operator who wants to customize their submachine gun. Subsonic ammo hides kill skulls from the enemy team.
M13BAssault RifleBruen OpsLaunch (November 16)Challenge or BundleThe M13B features a short-stroke piston system that allows for a high rate of fire and low recoil.
ChimeraAssault RifleBruen OpsMidseason (December 14)Challenge or BundleWith an integrated suppressor and slow, high-energy .300 BLK rounds, the Chimera is adept at close-quarters combat. Subsonic Ammo hides skulls from the enemy team.

What should also please many players is that we will get a firing range. In the current Warzone, there is no way to try out weapons and their attachments outside of a match. This would be a great and probably very popular change.

Loadouts

Loadouts are back baby! Although this time you won't be able to buy loadouts from buy-stations, instead you can only buy primary weapons. The only full loadouts, with perks and secondary weapons, will be deployed for free, for everyone, in the middle of the match.

Proximity Chat

If you play using the in-game voice chat then be careful! Proximity chat will be active in Warzone 2, so any players who are near you (whether they are friendly or not) will be able to hear you speak when you use the in-game voice chat.

Interrogation & Assimilation

We don't know exactly how either of these mechanics work yet, but the way it has been explained so far sounds interesting. Apparently, you can interrogate downed enemies, and this will reveal where their squadmates are. But in addition to interrogations we also have "assimilation", which will allow squads to work together, although we really have no idea what this will look like in Warzone 2.

Warzone 2.0: Release Date

Warzone 2.0 will be released on November 16 at 10AM PT (1PM ET / 6PM GMT / 7PM CET), just a few weeks after Modern Warfare 2. This is much earlier than we had previously assumed.

Warzone 2.0: Platforms

Call of Duty: Warzone 2 will be coming to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC, but also for Xbox One and PS4. As we discussed in our article on Call of Duty's possible Xbox-exclusivity, Warzone 2 will not be exclusive to Xbox. Switch users shouldn't be too surprised either, as CoD has never been released on a Nintendo console before.

Warzone 2.0: Maps

The big new Warzone 2.0 map will be set in a fictional place called "Al Mazrah". The map is not set in South America, as originally assumed, but in the Middle East, and here we already have a complete overview of the new map:

Al Mazrah
This is Al Mazrah. | © Activision

So once again it will be a peninsula, which lends itself to a Battle Royale. It also seems to be the biggest Battle Royale map we've ever seen in Warzone. Here we go into detail about the Warzone 2.0 map:

Warzone 2.0: "Rebirth" Map

Since not all players like huge maps, there will probably be another smaller map in the style of Rebirth Island or Fortune's Keep. However, this second map will only be released after the launch of Warzone 2.

DMZ: The Third Mode In MWII?

With the launch of Warzone 2, a completely new Tarkov-like mode called DMZ will also be released. Not much is known about the new mode yet, but it is supposed to work similarly to Escape from Tarkov or Hazard Zone from Battlefield 2042.

Although it was briefly rumored that DMZ would act as the third mode of Modern Warfare 2, requiring you to buy the full-price game, it is now known that DMZ will be part of Warzone 2 and thus free.

How Does DMZ Work?

The goal in DMZ is to find loot or complete contracts before you exfiltrate. According to the developers, DMZ is supposed to serve as a kind of sandbox mode in which every player can do whatever he wants. You land on the large Al Mazrah map, which is populated by AI soldiers, and can decide for yourself whether you want to hunt other players, fight AI soldiers, or completely avoid shootouts. Sounds very exciting to us in any case.

That's all the information about Warzone 2 that is currently available. Of course, we will keep this article up to date as soon as there is new information.

Jon Ramuz

Jon has a BA and an MA in English Literature, and as Content Lead for EarlyGame has written over 1,500 articles. He focuses on shooters, but also writes about entertainment and gaming in general....