Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Activision
SeriesCall of Duty
EngineIW 9.0
Platform(s)
ReleaseNovember 16, 2022
Genre(s)Battle royale, first-person shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0[lower-alpha 2] is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed by Infinity Ward and Raven Software for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.[2] It is a sequel to 2020's Call of Duty: Warzone. The game is a part of 2022's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and 2023's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, but does not require purchase of any of the parent titles. It was introduced during Season 1 of Modern Warfare II content. The game features cross-platform play and a new extraction mode titled DMZ.[3]

Warzone 2.0 was officially revealed by Activision at Call of Duty Next in September 2022, and was released on November 16, 2022 as part of a single cross-game launcher known as Call of Duty HQ.[4][5][6]

Overview

Gameplay

Similar to its predecessor, in Warzone 2.0's primary game mode, Battle Royale, players compete in a continuously shrinking map to be the last player(s) remaining. Players parachute onto a large game map, where they encounter and eliminate other players. As the game progresses and players are eliminated, the playable area shrinks, forcing the remaining players into tighter spaces. A new feature in Warzone 2.0, Circle Collapse, allows multiple circles to spawn within the map, which close independently of one another, before converging into one single safe zone. Like the first Warzone, upon death, players are sent to the "Gulag", a small-sized arena where killed players battle one another for a chance at respawning into the map. In Warzone 2.0, Gulag matches were initially introduced in 2v2 format, and included an artificial intelligence (AI) combatant called "the Jailer", whom players can hunt down to acquire a key and escape, in addition to the traditional method of winning Gulag matches. This change was reverted for Season 2 to the original 1v1 format, while the Jailer is also removed in favor of the overtime point capture system. In-game cash currencies also return, allowing players to buy various items at several buy stations scattered across the map, including custom loadouts with personalized weapons and perk setups.

A new extraction game mode, named DMZ, is also featured at the release of Warzone 2.0.[7] In DMZ, players battle against both AI-controlled and player-controlled opponents while attempting to exfil with loot they found within the playable area (also known as the Exclusion Zone). Players start out with a limited inventory, which allows storage of extracted loot from matches; said inventory can be expanded by completing Faction missions, allowing for more guaranteed loadout weapon slots or the opportunity to unlock base weapons and cosmetic rewards, usable in both Warzone 2.0 and Modern Warfare II.[8]

At launch, AI combatants were a prominent feature in Warzone 2.0, as they defended various strongholds and black sites throughout the main map, in both Battle Royale and DMZ. Players were able to engage in combat with the AI-controlled enemies in order to seize the strongholds and gain access to the loot items within. Following numerous balancing updates and changes, AI combatants were completely removed from Battle Royale modes in Modern Warfare II Season 4.

In Modern Warfare II Season 2, Warzone 2.0 featured the return of Resurgence, a game mode in which player combatants can respawn and rejoin matches after being killed, provided that at least one member in their squad remains alive following a short cooldown period. Squad members can help reduce the cooldown period by completing contracts or killing other players.[9]

Modern Warfare II Season 3 reintroduced the game mode Plunder, in which teams have to search for stacks of Cash scattered around the map to accumulate $2 million. Once found or if time is almost up, the game goes into overtime, multiplying all Cash sums twice. The team who has gathered the most money when the clock runs out is declared the winner. Players respawn automatically in this game mode. In addition, for the first time, a Ranked competitive mode was introduced in Warzone, developed in partnership with Treyarch using the official Call of Duty League ruleset.[10]

In addition to shared progression with Modern Warfare II and Modern Warfare III, Warzone 2.0 also features shared cross-platform progression and social aspects with Warzone Mobile, a new Warzone title made exclusively for mobile devices.[11]

Maps

Al Mazrah

Al Mazrah is a large desert-themed map with nearly 20 points of interest, and is used as the primary Battle Royale map for the Modern Warfare II seasons. The map is larger compared to the previous two Battle Royale maps in Warzone, Verdansk and Caldera, and features more water-based areas, allowing players to take advantage of new swimming and underwater combat mechanics introduced in Modern Warfare II.[12] Following the release of the Urzikstan map, Al Mazrah is removed from rotation, and remains accessible via DMZ only.

Ashika Island

Ashika Island is a small-sized Asian Pacific-themed map, which serves as the first locale for the Resurgence mode. Introduced in Season 2, the map notably features several surrounding water-based points of interest, complemented by Japanese towns, markets, and a castle area at the center.[13]

Building 21

Building 21 is a DMZ-exclusive location, introduced in the mid-season update for Season 1. It is accessible only by acquiring a specific keycard item looted from the Al Mazrah map in DMZ. Unlike other DMZ maps, Building 21 is only open for access during the weekends. This small map pits four squads of players against each other as well as heavily armored Shadow Company mercenaries, who are more aggressive and difficult compared to enemy combatants in other DMZ locales.[14]

Koschei Complex

Koschei Complex is the second DMZ-exclusive location, introduced in Season 3's mid-season update, and is accessible via one of four hidden entrances located within the Al Mazrah map. This map is characterized by flooded areas and darkly lit rooms, requiring the use of night-vision goggles to navigate. Similar to Building 21, the map features highly difficult AI combatants.[15]

Vondel

Vondel is a medium-sized Baroque European-themed map, released at the launch of Season 4. The map is initially playable in Resurgence and DMZ modes, while a standard Battle Royale version is introduced in the mid-season update. The map features 15 points of interest including a castle, town houses, a stadium, and a canal system among others. It also introduces dynamic fog and a new land/water hybrid vehicle initially exclusive to this map.[16]

Urzikstan

Urzikstan is a large-sized map, and serves as the third main Battle Royale map, released with the launch of Modern Warfare III's first content season. Urzikstan is also used as the main playable map for Modern Warfare III's Zombies mode. The map features 11 points of interest, with more connectivity between each point utilizing new mechanics such as horizontal ziplines and drive-able locomotive.[17] The introduction of Urzikstan also adds new features and quality-of-life changes, such as movement updates from Modern Warfare III, new loadout perks and intrinsic perks to improve gameplay pacing.

Fortune's Keep

Fortune's Keep is a small-sized island map, previously introduced in the first Warzone as part of the Call of Duty: Vanguard content season. The map takes place in a Mediterranean setting, with seaside town areas and coves, in addition to water-based areas. The map is set to release in early 2024.[18]

Rebirth Island

Rebirth Island is a small-sized island map, previously introduced in the first Warzone as part of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War content season. The map is based on the real-life Vozrozhdeniya Island and is set to release in 2024.[18]

Plot

Similar to the first Warzone, Warzone 2.0's story is told via cinematics included at the launch of each seasonal update. Al Mazrah is featured in the campaign mode for Modern Warfare II, while Amsterdam, which the map Vondel is heavily based on, also briefly appears in several missions. Urzikstan is a setting featured across the Modern Warfare reboot games, with several POIs featured in Modern Warfare III campaign and multiplayer levels.

The DMZ mode also features story missions, which revolve around various factions all vying for control of Al Mazrah, Ashika Island and Vondel. At launch, three factions were introduced: White Lotus, Legion, and Black Mous. A fourth faction, Crown, was introduced in Season 2, with missions exclusive to Modern Warfare II owners, and a fifth faction, REDACTED, was later introduced in Season 3 for all players. In Season 4, Legion and REDACTED factions were removed, followed by the introduction of a new faction, Phalanx. In Season 5, Shadow Company - implied to be the REDACTED faction from Season 3 - was added as a new faction.

Modern Warfare II story arc

Following Task Force 141's successful operation in taking down Iranian Quds Force Major Hassan Zyani, CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell begins to oversee new covert missions taking place in the city of Al Mazrah, in order to undermine the activities of the terrorist organization Al-Qatala. At the same time, several private military companies begin to move into Al Mazrah, looking to wrestle control of the city from AQ forces as well as each other. At some point, the Shadow Company PMC was discovered to be running new operations in Al Mazrah, as well as the Asia-Pacific island Ashika and the elusive underground facility Building 21.

In April 2023, Valeria Garza, leader of the Mexican Las Almas Cartel, manages to escape captivity, having been imprisoned for several months by the Mexican Special Forces squad Los Vaqueros. She then gathers the cartel to Al Mazrah to conduct new activities. Valeria's former comrade and Los Vaqueros leader, Alejandro Vargas, is requested by Laswell to infiltrate Al Mazrah and apprehend Valeria. Several months later, a terrorist attack was reported in the city of Vondel, Netherlands, with a mysterious special forces group calling themselves the Peacekeepers seizing control of the city following its evacuation. Laswell establishes contact with the Black Mous organization and partners with them in order to investigate the Peacekeepers and learn their true intentions. They soon learn that the Peacekeepers are actually a Russian PMC known as the Konni Group, and the attack on Vondel was orchestrated by them.

In August 2023, the leaders of the Urzikstan Liberation Force, Farah Karim and Alex Keller, meet with Shadow Company Commander Phillip Graves, who had faked his death since his last encounter with Task Force 141 in Mexico. Graves proposes an alliance between the Shadows and ULF in order to prevent an invasion in Al Mazrah from the Konni Group. Later that month, Graves, under the command of General Shepherd, leads an assault on the Konni-occupied Zaya Observatory in Al Mazrah as part of Operation: Rogue Arsenal. After destroying the observatory with missile launchers, Shadow Company locates an underground weapons facility containing chemical weaponry and begin extracting gas canisters, but are forced to exfil when the tunnels begin collapsing. However, per the orders of the Ultranationalist terrorist Vladimir Makarov, Konni operatives masquerading as Shadow soldiers managed to infiltrate their ranks and hijack the planes carrying the gas shipment, rendering the operation a failure.

Modern Warfare III story arc

In December 2023, Konni's second-in-command, Andrei Nolan, manages to escape captivity, after his previous defeat at the hands of Task Force 141. He resumes his duties and rallies Konni troops to the city of Zaravan, Urzikstan for a new operation.

Reception

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[19][20]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ranked Play mode developed by Treyarch. Additional development work by Beenox, High Moon Studios, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob and Activision Shanghai.
  2. ↑ Also known as Call of Duty: Warzone, following the Season 4 update for Modern Warfare II[1]

References

  1. ↑ Lockhart, Cameron (June 7, 2023). "Call of Duty: Warzone 2 is Changing Its Name". GameRant. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  2. ↑ Purslow, Matt (September 15, 2022). "Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 Brings Major Changes to the Formula, Including PvE Faction". IGN. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ Goslin, Austen (September 15, 2022). "Call of Duty Warzone 2.0 and the other big announcements from Call of Duty Next". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  4. ↑ Shea, Brian (September 15, 2022). "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II & Call of Duty: Warzone". Game Informer. GameStop Corp. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  5. ↑ Hume, Mike (September 15, 2022). "'Warzone 2.0': 'The most ambitious release in Call of Duty history'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ Arif, Shabana (September 15, 2022). "Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 map is the biggest battle royale map yet". TechRadar. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II and Call of Duty: Warzone™ 2.0 Season 01: Everything You Need to Know, Including DMZ". www.callofduty.com. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Warzone 2.0 Launch Update: Welcome to DMZ". Infinityward.com. November 12, 2022. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Forge Your Path in Season 02 of Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II and Call of Duty® Warzone™ 2.0, Launching February 15". Callofduty.com. February 8, 2023. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  10. ↑ "It's Anyone's Game in Season 03 of Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II and Call of Duty®: Warzone™ 2.0, Launching April 12". Callofduty.com. April 6, 2023. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  11. ↑ Condit, Jess (September 15, 2022). "'Warzone' is going mobile in 2023". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  12. ↑ Middler, Jordan (September 15, 2022). "MW2 multiplayer & Warzone 2.0 revealed: Swimming, third-person mode and more". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  13. ↑ Infinity Ward (February 1, 2023). "A Deep Dive on Ashika Island, the New Resurgence Map in Season 02 of Call of Duty®: Warzone™ 2.0". Callofduty.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  14. ↑ Infinity Ward (December 9, 2022). "Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II and Call of Duty®: Warzone™ 2.0 Season 01 Reloaded: Everything You Need to Know, Including DMZ Building 21". Callofduty.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  15. ↑ Infinity Ward (May 3, 2023). "Season 03 Reloaded for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0: Alboran Hatchery, Raid Episode 03, Warzone Ranked Play, and More". Callofduty.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  16. ↑ Infinity Ward (June 7, 2023). "Fight Across Brand-New Battlegrounds in Season 04 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone Launching June 14". www.callofduty.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  17. ↑ Pascoulis, Joseph (October 5, 2023). "New Warzone Urzikstan map revealed: All POIs". charlieintel.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Pascoulis, Joseph (October 5, 2023). "New Warzone Urzikstan map revealed: All POIs". charlieintel.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  19. 1 2 "Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  20. 1 2 "Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  21. ↑ Doster, S.E. (November 23, 2022). "Call Of Duty: Warzone 2 Review - Al Mazrah Shines". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  22. ↑ West, Josh (November 29, 2022). "Warzone 2 review: "A steady march toward a new horizon for Call of Duty"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  23. ↑ Indee (November 18, 2022). "Warzone 2 : La meilleure expérience Call of Duty en ligne à ce jour ?" [Warzone 2 : The best online Call of Duty experience yet ?]. Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  24. ↑ Abbott, Jeremy (November 21, 2022). "'Warzone 2.0' review: here we go again…". NME. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  25. ↑ Smith, Noah (November 24, 2022). "Call of Duty: Warzone 2 review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  26. ↑ Bianco, Angelo (November 26, 2022). "Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 - Recensione" [Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 - Review]. IGN Italia (in Italian). Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
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