Well, we all knew they were gonna come back to this. I mean, the Battle Royale in Black Ops 4 was pretty popular and was my personal favorite version of the Battle Royale genre to date. Fortnite is a little too cartoony and random for my taste, while PUBG is a little too broken for me. Apex Legends might have been the one, but…I’m not a team guy. Black Ops 4 was, (in my opinion) to me, the most polished, refined, and fun the genre had to offer. Now they’re releasing Warzone, which will be its own standalone game.
Now, I find this surprising. I was expecting this to be tacked on to Modern Warfare, but that’s not the case. With or without the game, you can play it and it’ll have crossplay with the consoles and PC. However, if you do have Modern Warfare, progression can be shared between them. This is mostly for those who have the battle pass, want certain cosmetics, and want to use a specific operator. The only other benefit is that those with the game get a 4-hour headstart when it’s released tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow.
As far as features go, this map will house 150 players instead of the standard of 100 players. Also, they’ll have the tanks and vehicles to add to the mayhem. On top of that, if you die you’ll be sent to the “Gulag” where you go through 1-on-1 fights with other dead players to see who’ll earn the right to return to the map. Finally, they’ll be the normal battle royale mode, but it’ll also have a mode that’ll let you collect money that you can use on kill streaks. Very shocked that isn’t a microtransaction if I’m being honest.
The other surprise is that it’s free to play! I didn’t know Activision knew what the word “free” meant, but perhaps they hope to see the sort of success they see in their mobile game here? Who’s to say. My only concern is how long this game will be supported. The Black Ops 4 battle royale was all fun and games until the game’s lifespan was reached. It’s rare for COD games to have a life outside of their 1-year lifespan. It’s certainly isn’t impossible, just improbable. Hopefully, they’ll prove me wrong. But for the moment, I look forward to seeing what Warzone has to offer.