Warzone & Modern Warfare III Season 1 will launch in early December. A new Battle Royale map will replace Al Mazrah, all the MW3 weapons will be integrated into Warzone, and a number of new modes and maps will be released for multiplayer.
The fourth year of Warzone and the first of MW3 now begins. Every two months we will get a new season that will bring content for Warzone, multiplayer and (hopefully) Zombies. Here is everything we know about the next season.
When Will MW3 & Warzone Season 1 Launch?
Warzone Season 1 Content: New Big Map “Urzikstan” & Gameplay Changes
There is still very little known about what’s happening in Season 1 besides the fact that we’re getting the new big map for Battle Royale, which is called “Urzikstan”. We will also be getting a series of gameplay changes that reflect updates made in MWIII, as well as an integration of all 36 new MW3 weapons.
Here are the key details for both:
- MWIII Gameplay Changes: The new weapons have very low recoil, but everyone is moving a lot faster and has more health. If they carry the perks over, we will also have permanent Dead Silence available to use.
- New Warzone Map: Urzikstan is a fictional country that exists somewhere between Russia and the Middle East. You can see the architectural and cultural influences of both those regions on the map. It’s very similar to Verdansk, and features a build up city in the center and various POIs around the edge.
We are sure that other changes are coming to Warzone as well, but they haven’t been specific.
Here is what Urzikstan looks like:
MW3 Season 1 Content: Maps, Gunfight & MWZ Updates
As far as Modern Warfare 3 goes, we can expect a couple of 6v6 maps on launch, the introduction of Gunfight, some new weapons, and then some updates to Modern Warfare Zombies. We’re also getting a third 6v6 map halfway through Season 1 and a Ranked mode at the same time, but we’re still waiting for further news on those developments.
Season 1 6v6 Maps
We are getting three new 6v6 maps in Season 1, two at launch and one during Season 1 Reloaded (a month after launch). The maps look promising, at least the first two coming at launch, Meat and Greece. The mid-season map, Rio, might be slightly harder to balance.
Meat
This is Meat, and it’s apparently quite compact. We expect it to be fun, especially because it’s less open than any of the other maps in the current MW3 map-pool.
Our only concern is the lighting, hopefully there are more lights in other parts of the map.
Greece
Next up we have the most promising of the bunch. Of course, water can always be risky on MP maps, but just look at how gorgeous this location is:
We have our fingers crossed that this makes it into the competitive map-pool in time for Major 2.
Rio
This is the map coming in the mid-season, at some point in January. It looks vibrant, and definitely has potential:
Rio might be so small as to become more of a “camo grinding” map, but this would certainly play well with the community.
MW3 Season 1: Gunfight Launch
Yes, Gunfight is returning. And they aren’t messing with it; this isn’t Champion Hill or Cut Throat, this is the iconic 2v2 mode we know and love. They are bringing back the MWII gunfight maps, and then adding the following new one:
Training Facility
Training Facility is reminiscent of King, from MW2019.
MWZ Season 1 Update
Sadly, there has been very little news about Modern Warfare Zombies, although we can at least confirm a new Wonder Weapon is coming in Season 1, and Rifts will open on the map that transport players to new challenges. The Wonder Weapon is called the V-R11 and can transform enemies to allies. The Rifts are a little more complicated though.
Here is how the devs describe these Rifts coming to MWZ:
Inside Dark Aether Rifts, Operators will encounter a sinister and chaotic challenge, with limited time on the clock to complete objectives and escape with their lives (and sanity). Dark Aether Rifts are a new end-game experience to master once players have completed the seasonal mission.
These sounds like the Rift challenges from Vanguard zombies, and they could add something to MWZ. In truth, we were hoping for more.
MW3 Ranked (Coming In Season 1: Reloaded)
Modern Warfare III will also receive a Ranked mode a month after Season 1, when Season 1: Reloaded launches. We expect it to be exactly the same as Ranked was last year and the year before that. It is once again being led by Treyarch, who we believe are intending to use the same SR system.
The current competitive settings and pro MW3 GA list are expected to change slightly from last year in that Smokes are being discussed for Hardpoint and Control, and Snipers might be banned entirely from Search (they are very strong this year).
Global Season 1 Content: New Weapons & Skins
And here is everything we know so far about the content relevant to both MWIII and Warzone players.
MW3 & Warzone Season 1 Weapons
We don’t have any official info on the new weapons, but a reliable leaker is claiming that these are the weapons coming at launch and then in the mid-season:
- Season 1 Launch:
- RAM-7 / Tavor X95 (AR)
- TAQ Evolvere / FN EVOLYS (LMG)
- XRK Stalker / CDX-50 Tremor (Sniper)
- RAM-7 / Tavor X95 (AR)
- Season 1 Reloaded:
- HRM-9 / Beretta PMX (SMG)
- [In-game name unknown] / ARX160 (AR)
If this is the case, then it will come as some delight to camo grinders (ARs are easy to complete, especially compared to the Grenade Launcher).
MW3 & Warzone Season 1 Skins & Collabs
There has been no official news on skins or collabs coming in Season 1, but one leaker is claiming that The Walking Dead and The Boys will feature in some way. These are perfectly believable collabs, but we won’t get excited until we at least see a leaked skin.
Modern Warfare III & Warzone Season 1 Battle Pass
As per usual, we are getting a new Battle Pass ($10) and even a BlackCell version of the Battle Pass ($30). The main Battle Pass contains 100 rewards, which can be unlocked if you gain enough XP. While the BlackCell version gives you tokens to skip through levels of the Battle Pass more quickly, it also gives you an additional 1100 CP to use in the CoD store immediately (about $10), and a couple of exclusive skins.
That was everything you need to know about the next season of MWIII and Warzone, good luck grinding out the current Battle Pass!