Call of Duty: Warzone’s overhaul detailed — can it compete with Battlefield 6’s imminent battle royale?

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Players are looking forward to the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on November 14th, but interest in the game’s battle royale mode, Warzone, has cooled off lately.

Warzone saw a jump in popularity when the original Verdansk map returned, but overall, players are getting tired of the game. There isn’t enough new content, and the problem with cheaters is really frustrating people.

As the new year approaches, Raven Software, the team behind Warzone, has shared its upcoming plans. However, with the highly anticipated Battlefield 6 battle royale possibly launching very soon, it’s unclear if these plans will be enough to stay competitive.

Sweeping changes to the entire game

You can read the full article over on X, but I’ll attempt to break out the more interesting parts.

It looks like the developers are planning a thorough overhaul. They’ll be focusing on both the Battle Royale and Resurgence modes, and Battle Royale will get a rotating map system starting in early 2026, according to Raven.

We couldn’t handle multiple large maps in the past, but we’ve now made the changes needed to make it possible. It won’t be available when Black Ops 7 launches, but we’re planning to add it early next year.

While changing maps is good, it’s worth remembering not everyone loves all the Warzone maps. Games like PUBG have successfully used multiple maps for a while now, and it helps keep things fresh and prevents the game from feeling repetitive.

The popular respawn mode, Resurgence, is getting a major overhaul. The current map, Rebirth Island, has become repetitive and isn’t very engaging, according to the developers at Raven. Frankly, it’s become incredibly dull, and the ranked version has been a frustrating experience for many players.

I’m really excited about the new map coming with Season 01, Haven’s Hollow! From what I’ve heard, people are already loving it. And it sounds like Rebirth Island is getting a complete overhaul in Season 02, which is awesome. Even better, they’re planning to rotate the Resurgence maps eventually so we can play both Haven’s Hollow *and* the refreshed Rebirth Island – that’s going to be amazing!

So it looks like Area 99 is no longer being updated. I apparently preferred it to Rebirth Island, but I seem to be the only one.

Avalon “Blackout” and beyond…

Most Warzone players are really excited about the upcoming Avalon map. It’s set to be the centerpiece of a new game mode that takes inspiration from the original ‘Blackout’ mode, though details about it have been scarce so far.

Blackout was Call of Duty’s first attempt at the popular battle royale format, and it was included with the release of Black Ops 4. While players needed to purchase the full game to access it, Blackout was a very enjoyable experience and remains fondly remembered by the Call of Duty community.

What we now know is that the new Blackout mode is slated for Season 02, aka, early 2026.

We’re thrilled to introduce our new Blackout experience on Avalon in Season 02! The popularity of modes like Resurgence shows that taking creative chances pays off, and we think Blackout will be another great example of that.

As far as “one more thing” goes, that’s the one most Warzone players wanted to hear about.

Raven plans to try out new features, like the wall-running ability coming in Black Ops 7, by adding them to temporary game modes first. This lets them test things out without changing the main Warzone game right away.

The biggest question is, though, is it enough?

Battlefield 6 battle royale could be the alternative

Just like with previous Call of Duty games, many people believe the biggest challenge for Activision right now is competition from the upcoming Battlefield 6.

Call of Duty can’t afford to release a subpar game this year, because players have a viable alternative. Although Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 offer different experiences, a free-to-play battle royale could easily attract players who are disappointed with the current Warzone.

We haven’t actually seen the new game yet – it hasn’t been officially revealed, and we’re expecting a surprise release. Changes to Warzone won’t happen until after the first season of the new game launches, which will probably be two to three weeks after Black Ops 7 comes out. That gives the new game plenty of time to gain popularity.

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2025-10-26 19:10