Call of Duty Warzone: Everything you need to know about the new battle royale mode

Warzone is the upcoming Call of Duty battle royale mode. Similar to games like Fortnite and Apex Legends, players will compete against other players to survive until the end, but Warzone will make some interesting changes to the battle royale formula. 

The free-to-play battle royale mode will be available to anyone on PC, PS4 and Xbox One starting Tuesday. 

Here’s everything else you need to know. 

When does Warzone launch? 

March 10 is when Warzone will be available to play, but what time you can play it will differ. Those who own Call of Duty: Modern Warfare can start playing at 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET Tuesday. The mode requires a 15-22GB download in order to start. Those who have a Modern Warfare season Battle Pass will be able to continue their progression in Warzone, meaning the more matches they play, the more content they’ll unlock. 

Those without a copy of Modern Warfare will have to wait until 12 a.m. PT/3 p.m. ET Tuesday to play. They will also have a much larger download of 80-100GB. There will be content to unlock for non-owners, and it can be used in Modern Warfare’s multiplayer if they decide to purchase the game in the future. 

PC players will need a Battle.net account to play, while Xbox players must have an Xbox Live subscription. PS4 owners can play the game without a PS Plus subscription, and those subscribers will receive a special Warzone package via the PSN Store. 

Warzone features crossplay, meaning players will compete against people on all three platforms. 

How does the battle royale mode work?

Each match will consist of 150 players split into squads of three. Players will jump out of a plane and land somewhere on the huge map of Verdansk armed with only a handgun. Once on the ground, squads will have to begin searching for weapons as they fend off the rest of the players in the match. Over time, a circle will appear on the map indicating the safe area within it, and it will shrink over time. The team that survives until the end wins. 

Weapons and armor can be found all across the map. There are also five vehicles for traveling: ATVs, SUVs, cargo trucks, tactical rovers and helicopters. Each will vary on how many people they can carry, how fast they can travel and how much armor they’re equipped with. 

How do Gulags work?

In most battle royale games, players who are killed are eliminated from the match, but that’s not the case with Warzone. Once a player is downed, they’ll find themselves in a Gulag. Here they’ll have to do a 1 vs. 1 match against another player to see who will have a second chance in the match. Those who lose will have to wait for their squadmates to purchase a redeployment for them.

What are Contracts?

Contracts are team-based tasks available during matches. Squads can only have one active at a time, and they’ll vary from having the team open a certain number of Supply Boxes to defending a location. Once completed, the squad will receive money, loot and special abilities such as being able to see where the circle will move to next on the map. 

What can I use money for? 

Money is going to be a key resource in Warzone. Players will be able to spend their cash at Buy Stations. These are identified by a shopping cart icon and can be found all across the map. Money can be spent to buy Redeploy Tokens allowing their dead teammates to come back into the game, self-revive kits and killstreaks, which are special actions giving players a temporary upgrade or a tactical weapon to eliminate multiple enemies. The scope of these killstreaks is still unknown as they can give a player a huge advantage. They could be powered down from their Modern Warfare multiplayer versions for the sake of creating a more balanced battle royale mode. 

What’s Plunder? 

Plunder is a second mode included in Warzone. Unlike battle royale, the objective in Plunder is to obtain the most money. Squads will have to work together to find the most cash whether it’s done by completing Contracts or taking out other players. Buy Stations in Plunder will have additional items for purchase that will help secure some funds as the match progresses.