It’s been less than a month since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 landed on Xbox and PC, and the game has already dominated sales charts and cemented its place as the fastest-selling Call of Duty title in the franchise’s history.
There is little time to celebrate for the teams working on this beast of a franchise, however, as the preseason comes to a close and we officially enter Modern Warfare 2’s Season 1. T
There’s a lot to cover with the impending update, including new maps and operator bundles, the slow death of Warzone Caldera, and the birth of Warzone 2.0.
Here’s everything we know about what’s coming to the franchise this season in Modern Warfare 2.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Season 1 and Warzone 2.0 — Release date and time
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 are both scheduled to go live on November 16 at 10AM PT.
Modern Warfare 2 players will receive the Season 1 update on November 14 at 10AM PT.
All platforms will be able to preload Warzone 2.0 starting on November 14 at 10AM PT.
Call of Duty: Warzone Intermission
With all of the hype surrounding Warzone 2.0, fans of the classic iteration of Warzone may be wondering what is going to happen to the beloved battle royale. Raven Software, the lead studio behind Warzone’s ongoing support will be taking the massive free to play game offline for a brief intermission period following the launch of Warzone 2.0. Servers for Call of Duty: Warzone will go offline at approximately 8AM PT on November 16. Season 5 for Call of Duty: Vanguard will also conclude at this time.
During that time, players will be able to jump into Warzone 2.0 while Raven Software focuses on supporting the new release during its initial launch phase. The studios behind Warzone 2.0 will then take a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday and then return to relaunch Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera as a separate experience on November 28 at 10AM PT.
Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera Relaunch
Call of Duty: Warzone will undergo some pretty notable changes once it relaunches in its legacy state. The name will officially be changed to Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera and players will be able to access a standard Battle Royale playlist, but the fan favorite Resurgence mode will no longer be available. This means that both Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep maps will be removed from rotation. While there’s no plans for them to return to Warzone Caldera, players are advised to keep an eye on Warzone 2.0’s future seasons for the potential introduction of new small maps and modes.
Players who have purchased operators, skins, weapon blueprints, and other in-game bundles will still be able to access those items within Warzone Caldera and their respective tie in game. However, none of these items will transfer to Warzone 2.0 when it becomes available. Double XP and Double Weapon XP tokens will also not transfer. The Season 1 battle pass and new store bundles for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 will not be backward compatible with Warzone Caldera. Warzone Caldera will no longer have an in-game store, however remaining COD points will be transferable between all games.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 — Welcome to Al Mazrah
With the sun setting over Warzone Pacific, Al Mazrah looks to be the new home for bloodthirsty squads looking to dominate a massive battlefield. Warzone completely redefined the Call of Duty experience, and with the upgrade to 2.0 the lead studios behind the development have sought to take feedback from the community to build a new foundation for the franchise as a whole. Al Mazrah is the biggest battle royale map for the Warzone series yet with 18 notable Points of Interest where players can loot for equipment and take on enemy combatants, whether they be other players or AI all in a bid to emerge from the battlefield victorious.
If you can’t wait to jump into Al Mazrah, you can load up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) multiplayer and jump into a few of those points of interest as Core and Battle maps. Those maps include:
- Al Bagra Fortress (Core)
- Embassy (Core)
- Zarqwa Hydroelectric (Core)
- Taraq (Core and Battle)
- Sariff Bay (Battle)
- Sa’id (Battle)
More details about what players can expect from Warzone 2.0, including details regarding the new DMZ mode, can be found in our full breakdown of everything we know so far about Warzone 2.0.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — New maps and modes for multiplayer
New map: Shoot House
It’s going to be Shoot the Ship 24/7 in Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer for Season 1. The first new maps to join the playlist rotation will be a remake of the beloved small maps Shoot House and Shipment. Shoot House will launch first, situated within the jungles of Las Almas and redesigned as a training ground for the cartel. This small, three laned map is ideal for a wide variety of playstyles and will surely keep everybody on their toes.
New map: Shipment
Shipment will be joining the rotation later with the midseason refresh. Shipment has seen a dramatic rework, as well, as the map is now situated on the deck of a cargo ship that is taking on water from the Atlantic Ocean as a hellacious storm rains down. Shipment is tightly constrained chaos, and the new oceanic boundary will inevitably force players to rethink some of their previous strategies for this zone as hopping out of bands to avoid obstacles may leave them stranded at sea.
New mode: Tier 1
Hardcore has been a staple playlist for Call of Duty for as long as anybody can remember, and yet for some unusual reason the playlist was noticeably absent when Modern Warfare 2 launched on October 28. Not only was Hardcore no where to be seen, but Infinity Ward had tweeted shortly before launch that the playlist was being renamed to Tier 1. Thankfully, the launch of Season 1 will bring about the addition of the Tier 1 playlist that fans were hoping for and along with it they can enjoy decreased health, a limited HUD, and friendly fire.
New mode: CDL Moshpit
Treyarch is hard at work finalizing Ranked Play for Modern Warfare 2, however the playlist that simulates gameplay rules set in place by the official Call of Duty League is not slated to make its appearance in Modern Warfare 2 until 2023. To give players a chance to prepare for the future of ranked play, CDL Moshpit will be joining the ranks of available playlists. CDL Moshpit will follow League standard rules, restrictions, and map rotation across Hardpoint, Search and Destroy, and Control and is limited to squads of 4.
New mode: CODBall
This limited time mode will be joining the playlist rotation as part of an event celebrating the international game of football. More information on CODBall will be available as part of the midseason refresh when the Support Your Team Pick’em minigame and limited time FC Operator bundles also go live.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — New mission and a raid for Spec Ops
New mission: High Ground
In our review of Modern Warfare 2 (2022) we found the Spec Ops mode to be the most lacking in content. With just 3 missions available and no reason to replay once they were three starred, there just didn’t seem to be a lot going on for the mode. Spec Ops will be getting some love during the Season 1 content spree, however, as a new mission will see a team of two players work together to destroy enemy communication servers while extracting hard drives with vital enemy intel. One player will be given control of an Attack Chopper to provide overwatch of their partner on the ground as they work with AI allies to infiltrate and clear buildings of enemy equipment.
Coming midseason: Raids
Spec Ops will be the future home of the much-anticipated Raids that will be joining Spec Ops mode. Designed with 3 player squads in mind, Raids will be a mix of stealth, action and puzzle solving objectives. The first Raid is expected to launch as part of the midseason refresh, and we’ll have more information on that as it gets closer to launch.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 — New battle pass and prestige systems
The Battle Pass system we all know as a shared experience from Modern Warfare (2019) through to Vanguard (2021) will be seeing some changes. Previously, the battle pass awarded players access to 100+ items, including a new Operator, weapon blueprints, and the coveted Call of Duty Points. Season 1 of Modern Warfare 2 (2022) will bring about a new host of innovations to the battle pass allowing players to have more choices on what they unlock. As opposed to the linear system scrolling across the bottom of the map the new battle pass will feature a multi-Sector map. Players will earn Battle Token Tier Skips that they can use to unlock items in the pass. Each map will have at least 20 Sectors with five items each and tokens can be used to either unlock adjacent Sectors or earn more items within a Sector that is already unlocked.
This allows players the choice to unlock items when they want them, rather than having to grind through the Battle Pass to get to a specific level for a specific blueprint or Operator skin. More detail on the contents of the Season 1 battle pass will be released closer to launch.
Battle Passes getting an overhaul also bleeds over into the Prestige system, as players will now have a persistent Prestige Rank that will span across all seasons rather than resetting. Beginning with Season 1, players who reach rank 56 will officially unlock Prestige 1, earning an emblem and other rewards along with a whole new set of challenges to complete. Season 1 will include four additional prestige ranks each with their own challenges and rewards.
- Rank 100 unlocks Prestige 2
- Rank 150 unlocks Prestige 3
- Rank 200 unlocks Prestige 4
- Rank 250 unlocks Prestige 5 and is the level cap for Season 1.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 — New weapons
Four new weapons will be joining the armory and will be available across Multiplayer, Spec Ops, and Warzone 2.0 once unlocked. For those who have played the campaign, the upcoming weapon additions may seem familiar.
New weapon: Victus XMR Sniper Rifle — Imperatorium platform
The Victus XMR Imperatorium platform is a bolt action sniper rifle with .50 cal BMG ammunition that hits its targets like a runaway truck. The bullets are tungsten sabot tipped to be fast and powerful, but long shots will require precision to hold the same impact. The Victus XMR Imperatorium platform will be available to unlock for free via the Battle Pass at launch.
New weapon: BAS-P SMG — Bruen Ops platform
The BAS-P is a small powerhouse with an aggressive fire rate and modular frame that is easily customizable. Subsonic ammo can be used to hide kill skulls from the enemy. Players can pick up the BAS-P for free at launch as part of the battle pass.
New weapon: Chimera Assault Rifle — Bruen Ops platform
The Chimera features an integrated suppressor and can be fitted with Subsonic ammo to hide kill skulls from enemies, making the slow but high-energy .300 BLK rounds lethal for stealthy close quarters combat from behind enemy lines. The Chimera can be unlocked via a store bundle purchase or weapon unlock challenge following the midseason refresh.
New weapon: M13B Assault Rifle — Bruen Ops platform
The M13B adopts a more SMG like appearance and feel by featuring a short-stroke pistol like system that allows for a high rate of fire and low recoil. Players can unlock the M13B via a store bundle or weapon unlock challenge. It will be available at launch.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 — New Operators
New Operator: Zeus
Zosar Kalu is the eldest of three children born in South Niger Delta who operates under the nickname of Zeus, a title given to him by a younger brother with a speech disorder that prevented him from pronouncing the elder brother’s given name. Zeus’ parents pursued political aspirations and he himself spent a year in military service shadowing a Nigerian Army Special Forces Battalion. Following his time in service, Zeus enlisted and rose through the ranks of the Special Forces. After his family was tragic targeted by an Al Qatala cell Zeus established the “Thunder Corps”, a counterterrorism group dedicated to hunting down the AQ. Zeus will be unlocked immediately with the purchase of a Season 1 Battle Pass.
New Operator: Klaus
Klaus Fisker is an enigma, a living legend among Operators due to his natural night vision. Rumors run rampant that Klaus’ scotopic vision is so strong he was able to navigate a mile of pitch black darkness before he was even old enough to read. This member of Denmark’s Elite Special Forces’ true claim to fame, however, is the legend of his carrying a wounded comrade 18 miles one night on the Urzikstan border. Klaus will be available as part of the midseason refresh.
New Operator: Gaz
Gaz is a prominent member of Task Force 141 and is notably Captain Price’s right-hand man. His valiance during an attack on Piccadilly Circus led to his position on TF141, and he was pivotal to saving CIA Officer Kate Laswell from Al Qatala. Gaz will be available as a bundle in the store following the midseason refresh.
Limited-time Operator bundles: Modern Warfare FC event
Celebrate the international love of football by picking up one or all three elite athletes and adding them to your Operator roster. Neymar JR will debut on November 21, Paul Pogba will debut on November 25, and Leo Messi will round out the event with his debut on November 29.
