Call of Duty: Warzone | Battle Royale | Free To Play | Racknerve

 

Call of Duty: Warzone is a free-to-play battle royale video game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows that was launched on March 10, 2020. A PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version has been announced for release in 2022, with a mobile version in the works as well. The game is included in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 and is linked to Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War in 2020, Call of Duty: Vanguard in 2021, and the upcoming Modern Warfare II (along with an upgraded version of Warzone) (but does not require purchase of either title) and was first released during Season 2 of Modern Warfare content. Infinity Ward and Raven Software collaborated on Warzone, which was released by Activision. Raven Software was later acknowledged as the sole developer after the incorporation of Cold War's material. Although some limited-time game modes accommodate 200 players, Warzone supports online multiplayer fighting between 150 players. Plunder, Rebirth: Resurgence, Buy Back, Payload, and Clash are some of the other game modes. The game allows for cross-platform play and progression between three different games. Battle Royale and Plunder are the two main modes in the game. Warzone features a new in-game currency system that can be redeemed at "Buy Stations" across the area. Cash can be exchanged for restricted access to players' custom classes (which were shared with Modern Warfare's standard modes previous to Season 6, v1.29, but are now only available in Warzone). Cash can also be used to buy things like "killstreaks" and gas masks. Looting structures and killing players with cash on them will yield cash. Warzone's initial offering was only Trios, a three-player squad. Solos, Duos, and Quads have all been added to the game as part of free post-launch content updates. 

The game garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for the maps. Activision reported in April 2021 that Warzone has achieved 100 million active users. 

Gameplay

Game modes

Following Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's "Blackout" mode, Warzone is the second primary battle royale installment in the Call of Duty franchise (2018). In comparison to Black Ops 4, Warzone encourages the collection of a new in-game currency called Cash rather than relying on equipable gadgets. There are two main game modes in Warzone: Battle Royale and Plunder. [7] It can accommodate up to 150 players in a single match, well above the standard of 100 players in most battle royale games. Some limited-time modes can accommodate up to 200 players.

Players compete on a constantly diminishing map to be the last player standing in the Battle Royale mode, which is similar to previous titles in the genre. Players land on a big gaming map and interact with other players. The playable area shrinks as the game proceeds and players are removed, squeezing the surviving players into tighter confines. Non-playing places in Warzone become tainted with a yellow gas, which depletes health and eventually kills the player if they do not return to a safe playable area. Unlike other games, Warzone places a stronger emphasis on vehicles and offers a unique in-game cash system. Parachuting is unrestrained, allowing the player to open and close their parachute as many times as they choose while in the air. 

Trios (squads of up to three players) were supported from launch, with the option to deactivate squad filling. Following upgrades included four-player squads and Solo BR modes, while Duos was added at the end of Modern Warfare Season 3.

Character death in Battle Royale does not always result in player defeat, as it does in other games. Instead, the mode includes a respawn mechanic that players can use in a variety of ways. Players who are killed are transported to the "Gulag," where they engage in one-on-one combat with another defeated player, using the same weaponry. The guns given to the players have few or no attachments. Only after their first death in a match may a player enter the gulag. The victor of this battle is respawned in the game. Other respawn methods are available through the in-game currency system. Players can use in-game currency to buy respawn tokens for other players if the Gulag mechanic does not revive them. 

In-match events such as Jailbreak, Fire Sale, and Supply Chopper can occur at any time.

• Jailbreak frees all players in the Gulag and returns them to the match.
• Jailbreak releases all players from the Gulag and allows them to rejoin the game.
• Supply Chopper spawns a helicopter carrying loot that drops once shot down

In Plunder mode,[10] teams must search for stacks of Cash scattered throughout the map in order to accumulate $1 million. When a Cash sum is found, the game enters overtime mode, multiplying all Cash sums by 1.5. When the clock runs out, the team with the most money is declared the winner. In this gamemode, players respawn automatically.

Along with Battle Royale and Plunder, several limited-time modes have been introduced throughout the game's lifespan:

• BR Buy Backs (originally called BR Stimulus) is a variation of Battle Royale in which players automatically respawn upon death if they have sufficient money, and the Gulag is disabled.
• Blood Money is a variation of Plunder in which players gain more cash rewards from completing contracts and performing "finishing moves" (execution kills) on other players.
• Warzone Rumble is a 50v50 team deathmatch mode taking place in cut-off sections of either the main Verdansk or Rebirth Island map, which contributes to multiplayer stats.
• Mini Royale is a 50-player mode in which players drop within a smaller circle than normal Battle Royale modes, for more squad engagements.[citation needed]
• Kingslayer is a multi-team deathmatch mode in which squads engage against each other in a constantly moving circle until one squad reaches the score limit and wins.
• Juggernaut Royale features the Juggernaut killstreak dropping in random places throughout the map. Up to three Juggernauts can be active at once in the map. Once a Juggernaut is killed, another Juggernaut care package will spawn in.
• Armored Royale features squads spawning in with armored trucks, which players can upgrade to be more powerful over time. Unlike normal modes, players can continue to respawn as long as their squad's truck is intact.
• Payload is a 20v20 team-based mode in which two truck convoys must be escorted to their final destination by Attackers, while Defenders attempt to stop the convoys from arriving. Defenders can build obstacles to impede the convoy's progress. If either of the convoys reach the Satellite Part Checkpoint, the Attackers gain more time. The Attackers and Defenders switch sides after the first half. 
• Clash, like Warzone Rumble, is a 50v50 team deathmatch mode in condensed areas of Verdansk in which the first team to reach 200 points wins. Contracts and world events can spawn at anytime, and weapons contribute to Warzone statistics. Following the Pacific update, Caldera Clash was introduced as a new version of the mode, taking place on the new map Caldera.
• Iron Trials is a hardened Battle Royale gamemode in which health stats, weapon loadout and perk availability, and Loadout Drops have all been modified to make surviving more difficult. Iron Trials has been featured in Verdansk '84 as well as Rebirth Island.
• Vanguard Royale/Vanguard Plunder/Vanguard Resurgence: The Vanguard integration introduces new variations of Battle Royale, Plunder and Resurgence modes, in which only Vanguard weapons, operators, equipment and vehicles are usable, while also introducing flyable airplanes, serving as both traversal and combat vehicles.

Through limited-time gamemodes, Warzone has been used to reveal upcoming Call of Duty titles:

• Know Your History was a quad Battle Royale-esque gamemode in which squads must collect and crack map codes, secure a key, and find a new weapon. After which players must reach a checkpoint before the time runs out. It was used to reveal Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
• The Battle of Verdansk mode required all players to work together to destroy an armored train. Following the destruction of the train, an aerial bombing forces players to reach a checkpoint for exfil. Call of Duty: Vanguard was revealed using it. 

Following the inclusion of Rebirth Island as part of Black Ops Cold War, several new modes were introduced that were exclusive to the new map:

• Rebirth Mini Royale works similarly to the main Battle Royale mode, with a maximum of 40 players allowed in a match.
• Rebirth Resurgence, like the BR Buy Backs mode, disables the Gulag, but players can only respawn if at least one member of their squad is still alive. If the entire squad is wiped, they are out of the game for the rest of the game.

Story

The story of Warzone is intertwined with the seasons of Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War, and Vanguard. In Modern Warfare, Verdansk serves as a common setting across multiple multiplayer maps, whereas Rebirth Island is inspired by locations and stories from previous Black Ops games. Caldera is a Pacific island themed after World War II that complements Vanguard's seasonal story.

Modern Warfare

In 2020, the city of Verdansk is engulfed in a cloud of toxic gas as a result of an attack orchestrated by terrorists Khaled Al-Asad and Victor Zakhaev. The Armistice, a joint faction made up of Russian (Allegiance) and NATO (Coalition) operators, disbands quickly in the midst of the attack, while the operators split into smaller sub-factions to fight for survival. The remaining Armistice leaders try to find Zakhaev and learn about his plans. Task Force 141, led by Captain John Price, eventually locates Zakhaev and prevents him from launching a nuclear missile after months of searching.

After being missing for 37 years, a cargo ship named Vodianoy appears and crashes on the shores of Verdansk a few months later. The ship shatters, releasing zombies into the wild. Over the course of several weeks, the zombies roamed the city, leaving behind traces of radiated contamination. All Armistice operators are eventually forced to flee Verdansk, while nuclear missiles are ordered to strike and eliminate the undead threat, annihilating the city in the process.

Black Ops Cold War

Vikhor "Stitch" Kuzmin, a Perseus operative, rebuilds and recommissions Rebirth Island's facilities in 1984 for the production of the lethal Nova-6 gas. The cargo ship Vodianoy left the island at some point, only to mysteriously vanish in the middle of the sea. Stitch later lures his nemesis, CIA agent Russell Adler, into a trap and captures him. The CIA launches a search and rescue operation, eventually tracking him from Laos to Verdansk, where Stitch has imprisoned him. Stitch's plan is to reactivate Project Nova, a numbers broadcast program once led by Nikita Dragovich, and seize control of various brainwashed sleeper agents embedded in Verdansk.

The CIA eventually discovers that Adler has been living off-grid in Verdansk, possibly compromised by the numbers program. Adler is apprehended and eventually cured of his brainwashing; at the same time, Stitch and other Perseus agents learn of Adler's placement of several explosive charges around Verdansk and fail to prevent their detonation. Adler goes to Verdansk with Woods, Alex Mason, and Jason Hudson to foil Stitch's plan. They eventually find Stitch in the woods, where he reveals himself to be the heir to the Perseus mantle, after the previous one died of cancer in 1983, much to Adler's chagrin. Stitch hands over his life to Adler, taunting him about his actions; a gunshot is heard as the scene fades to black.

Adler, Mason, Hudson, and Woods investigate a buried German WWII bunker in Verdansk's ruins, where they meet Captain Carver Butcher, a retired Special Operations Executive agent who founded the first spec-ops task force, Vanguard. Butcher then tells Adler and the others about a mission to find remnants of the Nazi empire in the Pacific.

Vanguard

Butcher authorizes Operation Vulcan, a top-secret SOE mission to infiltrate Caldera Island and track down fleeing Axis soldiers and scientists, in December 1944. As he approaches the island with Task Force Trident, their plane is shot, forcing Trident to jump and Butcher to crash near the beach. Butcher emerges from the crash and discovers an entrance to a Nazi bunker near the beach as the three Trident operators attempt to navigate the island. The bunker's intelligence reveals that the Nazis were developing a chemical weapon codenamed "Nebula V." Butcher later travels with Task Force Yeti to the Swiss Alps, where the Nazis are keeping the Nebula V gas in a fortress.

The Nazis launch Nebula V across the globe, striking major cities such as Paris and London, as well as Caldera. Butcher sends Task Force Harpy to Caldera in March 1951 to intercept a Nazi arms convoy, where they discover a radio emitting a mysterious primal sound. Butcher laments the fact that the release of Nebula V has awakened something powerful close to Caldera. The island would eventually become a battleground for two massive monsters, Godzilla and Gorilla Kong.

Announcement and release

Warzone was released on March 10, 2020, following a month filled with glitches and leaks. A month prior, a Reddit post revealed the game's existence, and a software glitch that same month allowed players to view an early version of the battle map. On March 8, 2020, two days before the game's release, YouTube streamer Chaos posted an 11-minute video purporting to show gameplay from the unreleased Warzone game. The video was removed, and Warzone's publisher, Activision, announced on March 9 that the game would be released on March 10. Activision announced on March 11, 2020, that six million people had downloaded Warzone in the first 24 hours. The official Call of Duty Twitter account announced on March 13, 2020, that Warzone had reached 15 million players earlier that day. 

Activision announced on April 10, 2020, that Warzone had surpassed 50 million downloads in its first month.  Activision announced in March 2022 that they were working on a mobile version of Warzone. 

Reception

GameSpot praised the variety and size of the maps in its 7/10 review, writing: "Warzone is a fantastic Call of Duty battle royale sequel that finally manages to carve out its own identity with interesting twists on the existing formula. Its death subversion and nail-biting Gulag duels give you more ways to stay in a match while also forcing you to be aware of your surroundings even after wiping out an opposing squad." IGN also gave the game a 7/10, stating that "despite the serious depth concessions made in the name of instant gratification, Call of Duty: Warzone's beta remains thoroughly enjoyable." 

The game has over 100 million players worldwide as of April 2021. 

At The Game Awards 2020, it was nominated for Best Multiplayer and Best Ongoing.