Activision Blizzard is preparing to perform on the same field with publishers PUBG, Fortnite and Apex Legends. The company is preparing a fritupley “royal battle” Call of Duty: Warzone.
Rumors about the imminent release of the “battle royale” in the Call of Duty series appeared last week. As VGC sources confirmed yesterday, the game is really in development and will be released in early March. Infinity Ward and Raven Software studios are working on it.
The title will be released in two versions at once:
- a mode inside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with a separate progression and access to cosmetics from other modes;
- separately downloadable free-play game. Inside there will be a button to purchase the full version, that is, Modern Warfare.
The most likely release date of Warzone sources call Tuesday, March 10. After all, it is on Tuesdays that updates to Modern Warfare are loaded. Before that, Activision will launch a marketing campaign for the title — it will probably begin this week, the media writes.
It is possible that over time Warzone will turn into an independent title without the binding of Modern Warfare. Now Activision perceives the game as an opportunity to attract part of a huge audience of battle royals to its series, writes VGC. However, it may turn out like with Apex Legends from EA. Released in 2019, “Battle Royale” is based on the Titanfal l universe, but its success is less due to the audience of its predecessor games.
In the niche of royal battles, Warzone has every chance to become more popular than the brainchild of Respawn.
- The Call of Duty brand is one of the strongest in the US gaming market;
- In the fall, the mobile Call of Duty thundered all over the world with a record of 100 million downloads in the first week.
So there is a chance that the popularity of Warzone will decline not as fast as that of Apex Legends.
What will be in the game?
Also, VGC sources were able to learn more about the game from its files.
It will contain:
- classic attributes for battle royales: a constantly narrowing playing area (the field will be surrounded by “chemical gas”) and matches for 100 players to the last survivor;
- single and team modes;
- classic maps of the series, as in Call of Duty: Mobile;
- ping system, like in Apex Legends. It is also called the “tag system” and allows you to communicate with the squad outside of voice chat.
But some mechanics can seriously distinguish Warzone from other games of the genre. For example:
- in-game currency received for killing opponents and completing missions. You can use it to buy valuable equipment right during the match. Users will also have access to special banks for storing this currency and using it in future matches.;
- the mechanics of “revival in the Gulag”, as Western users call it. In most battle royales, the deceased player is eliminated from the match. In Warzone, he can enter the arena and fight with another deceased 1 on 1. The winner will return to the match;
- they can also add tokens for rebirth, the source claims. How to use them is not completely clear. They are either needed for “revival in the Gulag”, or they immediately resurrect the player.
Thus, Activision can potentially monetize its novelty not only through cosmetics and the purchase of full Modern Warfare. Players will probably be allowed to purchase in-game currency and tokens for real money.
Also on the topic: