Modern Warfare III & Warzone Season 1 | Gunfight, New 6v6…

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 in multiplayer.

We’re now in the fourth year of Warzone and the first year of MW3. Throughout the year, we will get a new season of content every two months. Each season will bring something for Warzone, multiplayer and (hopefully) Zombies. Here is everything we know about the first season.

1. When Will MW3 & Warzone Season 1 Launch?

MW3 and Warzone Season 1 will launch on Wednesday, December 6, at 9 am PT (12 pm ET / 5 pm GMT / 6 pm CET). This has now been officially confirmed and will not be delayed.

Based on that start date, we predict Season 1: Reloaded will be released on January 10, and then Season 2 will come at some point in mid-Feb.

2. Warzone Content

2a. New Warzone Map Urzikstan

In Season 1 we’re getting a new big map for Battle Royale, called “Urzikstan”. 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.

Here is what Urzikstan looks like:

Warzone Map Urzikstan: Every POI We’ve Seen So Far

View gallery

You can already play this map in Zombies if you own MWIII, otherwise you’ll have to wait until December 6 to check it out. It doesn’t feel very… memorable in all honesty, but it seems to be fundamentally well-designed.

2b. Warzone Gameplay Changes

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 just some of the highlights:

• The Return of Movement: You move and climb a lot faster, and slide-cancelling is back.
• Free Perks: By default, you will have faster weapon swap and can use two primary weapons in your Loadout, no need for an Overkill vest.
• Backup Pistol: You get a dedicated pistol when swimming or scaling ladders or hanging from ledges, regardless of your Loadout.
• Manual Gas Mask: You now have the ability to manually decide when to equip the Gas Mask.
• Dedicated Ammo Slots: There are new backpack slots specifically designed for storing ammo.
• Loot Rarity: Weapons, equipment, killstreaks, and more will now be color-coded to indicate their value and rarity, as well as whether a weapon is part of a “Custom Loadout.”
• Classic Red Dots: The traditional minimap with red dots indicating unsuppressed weapon fire is making a return in Call of Duty: Warzone. Operators will briefly appear as red dots when firing unsuppressed weapons.

For all the exact changes, check out the patch notes when Season 1 launches.

3. MW3 Content: New 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.

3a. New Maps For Modern Warfare 3

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 it’s less dark 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.

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3b. New Modes For Modern Warfare 3

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:

It’s called Training Facility, and it’s reminiscent of King from MW2019.

In addition to Gunfight, we are also getting a party mode called All or Nothing. In All or Nothing, you deploy with Throwing Knives and no ammo. If you get one elimination, then you activate the Scavenger Perk, allowing you to retrieve ammo pickups for your weapon. The first to land 20 eliminations wins.

3c. MW3 Ranked (Coming In Season 1: Reloaded)

Modern Warfare III will also receive a Ranked mode a month after Season 1 launches, with the Season 1: Reloaded update. 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 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).

3d. Modern Warfare Zombies Update

Sadly, Modern Warfare Zombies isn’t getting a ton of content, 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.

4. Global Content: New Weapons & Skins

And here is everything we know so far about the content relevant to both MWIII and Warzone players.

4a. Season 1 Weapons

Here are the weapons coming at the launch of Season 1:

• XRK Stalker (Sniper)
• RAM-7 (Assault Rifle)
• Stormender (Launcher)

And then with the mid-season Reloaded updated, we will get the following two new weapons:

• TAQ Evolvere (LMG)
• HRM-9 (SMG)

This part of the update will come as a delight to camo grinders, who can replace the RGL with one of the weapons above to get Interstellar.

4b. Season 1 Skins & Collabs

We already know of a few new bundles that will be coming to the store in Season 1:

• The second part of the Dune collab has been confirmed, which means new skins for Paul Atreides and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
• The Christmas event has also been confirmed, and with it a Zombie Santa.

According to leaks, A-Train from The Boys is also going to be coming to the game in Season 1, but this is just a rumor currently. Although, they did work with The Boys very recently, so we’re tempted to believe it.

5. MW3 & 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.

Here is the Season 1 Battle Pass:

That was everything you need to know about the next season of MWIII and Warzone, good luck grinding out the current Battle Pass!