Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is out in the wild. After a couple of years of enjoying the first version of Warzone, from Verdansk into Caldera, the newest iteration of Warzone is here.
When Season 1 launched for Modern Warfare 2, it brought Warzone 2.0 with it - and we’re now late on in the first season of post-launch content.
If you want to know more about how Warzone 2.0 is different from its predecessor on the gameplay front, check out our detailed article on that right here.
Keep reading, though, to find out what we know is coming to Warzone next season.
When does Season 2 start in Warzone 2.0?
We know when Season 2 is coming to Warzone 2.0 - mostly because it’s been delayed. It was initially expected at the start of February, but we now have a new date: 15 February 2023.
This is a little later than we hoped, and means that the first season of content has been going on for ages, but at least we know some of what’s coming.
What’s new in Season 2 for Warzone 2.0?
Ahead of the launch of Season 2 we’ve been getting a bunch of tidbits of information through from Call of Duty’s social feeds about what to expect, with a major new blog post also providing a host of detail recently. Here are the details we have so far.
New resurgence map - Ashika Island
Infinity Ward has announced that a second map is coming to Warzone 2.0, bringing back the smaller and quicker gameplay offered by Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep in the first Warzone.
The map, called Ashika Island, will also have Resurgence modes, which let you get back into the action much more easily for a less brutally unforgiving experience.
You can check out the tac map of Ashika Island thanks to the reveal above, and check the Call of Duty Twitter account for some more images of its points of interest.
New weapons
We know that there will be new weapons to unlock and use in Season 2, as is normal for COD. What we don’t know at this stage is what these weapons are!
1v1 Gulag
When Warzone 2.0 launched, it switched up the super-popular last-chance Gulag to make it a 2v2 battle instead of the traditional 1v1.
This has gone down pretty badly - it makes for a frustrating time if your teammate is AFK, for example, or if you get your share by killing one opponent but still lose the fight overall.
Well, it’s going - Infinity Ward has confirmed that the Gulag will be a 1v1 experience (or at least sometimes will) in Season 2.
Big looting changes
We know that the looting system is also going to be tweaked - with more loot popping out onto the floor rather than staying inside backpacks of killed players.
On that note, backpacks are also being changed, with no more medium or large ones on offer, making everyone on a level playing field and stopping people from hoarding loads of equipment.
This should make it quicker to loot up if you make a quick kill, which is welcome.
Armour changes
The reviled armour vest system is no more - all players will now start with a three-plate vest instead of needing to search for it, reducing a big randomiser in gunfights.
Loadouts
It’s becoming cheaper to buy a loadout, which can also no longer sell out at buy stations. There will also be a second loadout drop event in every match, making for more boxes to find and hopefully less camping of those drops.
DMZ difficulty
DMZ is being updated too, with new missions added and a new exclusion zone to explore - this is likely to be the Resurgence map mentioned above.
The mode will also apparently get difficulty tuning of some sort, which is hugely welcome given the sometimes crazy AI accuracy on offer at the moment.
When did Season 1 Reloaded launch for Warzone 2.0?
The first major update since Season 1 dropped is out now, having arrived on 14 December 2022, meaning you can play it right now.
What’s new to Warzone 2.0 in Season 1 Reloaded?
There were a few big changes that arrived with Season 1 Reloaded, and we’ve broken them down in categories for you. You can also check the official blog post for more details. For more detailed information, the full patch notes can be reviewed here.
New modes
There were new modes called Warzone Cup and Mini Royale arriving, which promise condensed versions of the Battle Royale experience, perfect for those who want shorter bursts of action.
Warzone Cup was Call of Duty’s spin on Rocket League, with two teams of quadbike riders competing to knock a giant ball into each others’ goal.
New area - Building 21
A new area called Building 21 has been added to Warzone and DMZ, promising high-value loot in the latter mode particularly, although it’ll be challenging to get into it.
New operators - Gaz and Klaus
Two new operators are arriving - the Santa-themed Klaus and campaign hero Gaz. Both will be available in store bundles, but you’ll also be able to unlock Gaz by completing the first Raid of Modern Warfare 2’s post-season content, Atomgrad.
New weapon - Chimera
A new assault rifle in the same platform as the M13B, the Chimera is even more of a short-range option, with a high rate of fire and low recoil. It could be ideal as a sniper support secondary, but we don’t yet know how it’ll be unlockable.
Combat Record
We were initially promised the return of a pretty basic feature with Season 1 Reloaded - the Combat Record, where you can check stats like your win total and kill-death ratio.
That’s now apparently not coming anymore after Infinity Ward hit a snag.
This is pretty disappointing given how basic a feature it seems, as is the fact that whenever it does drop it won’t tally any stats retrospectively, wiping the slate clean no matter how well you’ve done.
What was new in the Warzone 2.0 Season 1 update?
Well, the short answer here is everything - Warzone 2.0 only started at the beginning of Season 1, so we wiped the slate clean and started afresh.
Even if you’d been playing Modern Warfare 2 over the previous weeks there were some bits of the update that were new for you even outside of Warzone. The image below will give you an overview, but we’ll break it down with the key info as well.
Weapons that some thought would be here at launch came in Season 1.
Free in the battle pass are the Victus XMR Sniper Rifle and BAS-P SMG.
These are both present in the Modern Warfare 2 campaign. The Victus XMR has high bullet velocity so should be good for long-range shots.
The BAS-P SMG, meanwhile, has a high rate of fire and the option of subsonic ammo.
During the season, we’ll get the chance to unlock the Chimera Assault Rifle and M13B Assault Rifle (both on the same Bruen Ops weapon platform as the BAS-P) through weapon challenges. These should both have low recoil and high rates of fire for closer-range AR engagements.
The M13B’s challenge is already active in fact - it requires you to play the new DMZ mode and extract the weapon after killing a certain enemy in the radiation zone.
New operators
There are a whopping six new operators in Season 1.
Zeus is unlocked with the Battle Pass automatically, a Nigerian Special Forces veteran with a pretty cool helmet.
Klaus hasn’t been pictured yet, but hails from Denmark and sounds suspiciously like a Christmas tie-in skin. He’ll be available mid-season, likely in the store.
Next, campaign hero Gaz is coming, too - ex-SAS and now a key part of Task Force 141.
Finally, we’re getting the football collaboration that leaked recently - Lionel Messi, Neymar and Paul Pogba are all going to be available to buy in the COD Store in bundles, for those who want a gritty version of their Ultimate Team in Call of Duty.
New Battle Pass system
Season 1 has also brought a brand new look for the very first of Warzone 2.0’s Battle Passes.
It’s moved to a new “Map” model that will be familiar to Fortnite players - instead of having a simple track of rewards that you move through in a set order as you earn XP, it’ll be over to you to unlock the rewards you most want.
You earn tokens as you rank up, and spending these tokens will unlock rewards to give you more control over what you receive.
However, you will need to either rank up a bunch or unlock a bunch of items if you want to access further sectors of rewards, so you’ll still find yourself unlocking a bunch of new cosmetics and other items.
