With the first year of Call of Duty: Warzone being an absolute success, many fans are curious to know when a new map is coming. Here’s everything we know so far about a new Battle Royale map, potential release date and how it will interact with Black Ops Cold War.
When Rebirth Island was launched in Warzone, it is probably fair to say that some players were a little disappointed. The map, which is based on the original Black Ops ‘Rebirth’ mission, was never intended to be a new Battle Royale map, but still left some players feeling slightly modified. A large map, the size of Verdansk (or slightly larger, if there are recent rumors), should appear later.
There are already rumors about another new Warzone scenario, although Rebirth Island just launched with its first season in mid-December. This update also saw Black Ops Cold War integrated into Warzone, but this is far from the end of BOCW’s influence in Warzone.
The Rebirth Island map offers players a chaotic and fast gaming experience.
Ural Mountains War Zone Map
The most prominent rumor surrounding a future war zone map is that it will have a big influence on Black Ops Cold War’s Fireteam: Dirty Bomb maps.
The current maps in the new Treyarch mode are Alpine, Ruka and Sanatorium, all located in the Ural Mountains, Russia. Ruka is codenamed ‘wz_forest’ in the game files, while Alpine’s is ‘wz_ski_slopes’. Likewise, fans noticed that Sanatorium has been disabled as ‘wz_sanatorium’ in the game files.
As a 40-player game mode, FTDB maps are considerably larger than a standard 6v6 map. Speculation suggests that they would fit as different POIs on a larger Battle Royale map. According to current speculations, the Sanatorium would be in the southwest, Alpine in the southeast and Ruka in the center.
This new map would therefore be an easy transition. Fireteam already uses several Warzone mechanics, such as parachuting, states of falling, but not exit, pings, armor and loot.
Ruka is situated in the Ural Mountains, a real life mountain range in modern Russia.
Given the links with Black Ops Cold War, we could very well see yet another cross between battle royale and the 2020 CoD installment. More weapons will make the switch as Treyarch adds them, with scorestreaks and vehicles also possible.
Fireteam maps have vehicles such as T-72 tanks, Dirt Bikes, Buggies, Snowmobiles and Helicopters, some of which are already available in Warzone. Rumors also claim that, like Black Ops 4’s Blackout Battle Royale, there will be water that can be crossed by boats.
Finally, there are suggestions that some historical CoD maps may be presented as POIs. Summit and WMD, for example, are both set in the Ural Mountains. In fact, weapons of mass destruction are set at Mount Yamantau, a mountain whose name was specifically verified in a recent Easter egg document from Rebirth Island. Some fans took this as a hint of the future return of WMD.
WMD has already been remastered once – featuring in Black Ops 4.
Will the zombies return to the war zone?
If the latest rumors are true, we can see more hordes of the undead taking over Warzone when the new map finally makes its debut. Speculation began on February 11, when a new machine appeared at Warzone Rumble’s Verdansk hospital.
This particular machine first appeared in Black Ops Cold War Zombies mode and was used to earn rewards after completing challenges. When approached, the prompt reads ZAI / ACTIVATE_ZOMBIES, which can be a teaser or an indication that it shouldn’t be there yet.
Some players have also experienced screen distortion when entering an office on the new map of Rebirth Island, something that happened earlier in August 2020, when causing Warzone to cross over with Black Ops Cold War, suggesting that something big is on the way.
The zombies may be returning to the war zone.
Release date of the new war zone map, season 2
At the time of writing, these details were strictly rumored, with the possible implementation of a map of the Ural Mountains still a little distant. Leaks and rumors suggested a release date in March 2021, which would coincide with Warzone’s one-year anniversary.
Some fans expected to see a new map implemented at the beginning of season 2, but this seems increasingly unlikely, given the changes that will occur in Verdansk in this update. Our only new confirmed POI is the Vodianoy cargo tanker that is approaching the port.
You can already see the new Vodinoy cargo ship off the coast of Verdansk in #Warzone!
(through @MrTheRevertz) pic.twitter.com/V3kWvyM14d
– Call of Duty DEXERTO (@DexertoIntel) February 18, 2021
It seems unlikely that Raven would implement major changes to the map, only to make them obsolete soon afterwards with an entirely new map. There is, however, some potential for the ship and its “unknown cargo” to be a first narrative step towards a new map.
This fits with Activision’s second season advertisement using the slogan ‘The End Begins’. The end of Verdansk, perhaps?