Weâve put together a comprehensive round-up of highlights from some of the various leaks and rumors circulating in recent months regarding the upcoming Call of Duty: Warzone sequel.
Back in January, it was first reported that a Warzone sequel was in the works. In February, Activision announced that Modern Warfare 2 and a new, "massive evolution of Battle Royale" Warzone experience were being developed together from the ground-up by Infinity Ward, and "on the horizon in 2022 for Call of Duty."
Flash forward to June 2022 and its perhaps been no surprise that many in the community are already turning their focus towards Warzone 2. From the rumored release, to gameplay and various design choices, here's everything we know about Call of Duty: Warzone 2 so far according to leaks.
Warzone 2 Release Window
Although Warzone 2 has yet to be announced, let alone have an official release date, prominent gaming insider Tom Henderson's latest report suggests that the new battle royale experience is expected to drop between December 2022 and January 2023.
Warzone 2 Platforms
Perhaps the most concrete detail about Warzone 2 thus far, although Modern Warfare 2 will seemingly be the last COD game released for PS4 and Xbox One, it appears Warzone 2 will be making the jump altogether.
According to Henderson back in January, the whole premise with Warzone 2 has been for Infinity Ward to have a "clean slate" to work with, scrapping everything like previous Warzone weapons and operators, and building the game on a new engine with next-gen power in mind.
While this will certainly cause some controversy if it turns out to be true, it certainly makes sense given Raven Software has openly discussed the limitations of current-gen consoles impacting their development for Warzone to this day.
For those on PC, it appears that along with MW2, Warzone 2 could be coming to Steam aside from just Battle.net.
Warzone 2 Maps and POIs
On May 25, a new leak seemingly revealed the bird's eye view of the new flagship map for Warzone 2, complete with several POIs that line up with ones that Henderson previously reported on a week earlier.
Upon first glance, many seem to note that the rumored map resembles a lot of Black Ops 4's Blackout than it does Warzone in terms of its layout.
In April, @TheGhostOfHope mentioned on Twitter that the Warzone 2 map "will heavily take inspiration from Medellin, Colombia." This certainly seems to hint that the "Modern City" POI will indeed be a remade version of the original 2009 Favela map, considering Henderson also reported in May that Highrise, Quarry, Terminal and Afghan are all expected to return in both MW2 and Warzone 2.
On May 31, Henderson reported that a second Warzone 2 map, "similar in size to Rebirth Island," is "well into development," and likely to release "sometime" after the new battle royale launches.
Warzone 2 Loadouts
On May 17, popular YouTuber NerosCinema mentioned in a video that although Loadouts will be returning in Warzone, the way to go about obtaining them will be different. Rather than simply cashing in at a Buy Station as the main way to secure a custom Loadout, "they will be locked behind these things called Strongholds."
These AI-controlled strongholds will seemingly be spread out across the new flagship map and require players to complete objectives inside them (e.g. "infiltrating a building" or "defusing a bomb") in order to unlock their loadouts.
Warzone 2 Inventory System
On May 17, NerosCinema mentioned in a video that "a bag system is going to be implemented." With this system, all items and equipment will allegedly take up a certain amount of inventory space, similar to other Battle Royale games like DayZ and H1Z1. It's unknown if the weight of the backpack would affect player speed and stamina.
Additionally, NerosCinema added that rather than having the ability to stockpile a few plates by default, players could soon "need a satchel to even be able to equip them in the first place."
On May 21, Henderson reported that the Warzone 2 loot system will take on a slot-based management system, similar to Tarkov's bag system or Resident Evil 4's Attache Case mechanic. Players will seemingly have to maneuver their items around, like a game of firearms-based Tetris, in order to fit all their junk in (e.g. ammo, killstreaks, weapons). Different bag tiers allow you to you have more storage space.
Warzone 2 Firing Range
On April 28, TheGhostofHope Tweeted that "Modern Warfare II will have a firing range." In a follow-up Tweet directly afterward, they then added, "Can only assume this also will come to Warzone 2."
On May 17, NerosCinema mentioned in a video that according to a source, the highly-requested Firing Range feature would launch with Warzone 2.
Warzone 2 Pro Perks
On May 21, Henderson reported that in addition to MW2, Pro Perks are indeed returning in Warzone 2, allowing players to complete challenges in order to unlock better versions of the base offerings. While Pro Perks will seemingly definitely be obtainable by looting Strongholds, itâs not entirely clear whether or not they can be set in Loadouts pre-game.
Warzone 2 Tradeable Operator and Weapon Skins
On May 15, TheGhostOfHope Tweeted that thanks to MW2âs third mode, "DMZ," players can earn skins, blueprints and more and trade them in a marketplace to ultimately also be able to use them in Warzone 2.
For more on Call of Duty, be sure to check out our other top five lists:
- Top 5 Call of Duty Games of All Time
- Top 5 Call of Duty Guns of All Time
- Top 5 Call of Duty Maps of All Time
- Top 5 Warzone Moments of All Time
- Top 5 Warzone Seasons of All Time
Additionally, feel free to check out our timeline on the history of the Call of Duty franchise!