Modern Warfare Warzone Out Today—Here’s How To Play

After a bunch of gameplay leaked yesterday, Activision finally announced Modern Warfare Warzone for real. We already published the trailer and huge map on our Facebook page, but you might still be left with the question: how do I play?

If you own Modern Warfare

For owners of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare the process is going to be smooth and easy. Starting today as a one-time early access, Warzone will be available at 8AM PDT. The download for Warzone will be around 18-22GB for those players. You can find the button to play Warzone in the main menu, as it replaced the ‘classified’ button.

If you don’t own Modern Warfare

If you haven’t purchased and/or downloaded Modern Warfare, Warzone is also free to play for you. Don’t plan on playing anytime soon though, as the download will be a whopping 83-101GB! You can find the download in your respective first-party store. That means starting 12PM PDT, players can start downloading the battle royale via the PlayStation Store, Microsoft’s Xbox Store and Battle.net on PC.

What’s Warzone?

Warzone is mostly just your ordinary battle royale, but there’s a few twists. First of all, the game mode actually features two separate game modes; Battle Royale and Plunder. In the first mode you’ll be dropped in a huge region with 149 other players where you will have to fight to the death (solo, duo’s or trio’s). There’s vehicles, buy stations for killstreaks and revives, and the previously leaked Gulag. When you first get eliminated, you’ll have a chance to fight your way back to your squad by winning a brutal 1v1 in the Gulag.

Then there’s Plunder, the second game mode in Warzone. Here you’ll fight for the most Cash by looting, fulfilling contracts, and killing others and taking their loot. It seems that a lot of the same mechanics apply for both game modes (apart from the Gulag). The fundamental goal is different though, so there’s something there for everybody.

Crossplay

So, whether you own Modern Warfare or not, and regardless of the platform you prefer playing on, Activision has got you covered. Players can start downloading Warzone for free starting at 8AM PDT if they own Modern Warfare. From 12PM PDT, new players can get in and start fighting to survive.

All platforms, meaning Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, will be joining the same maps, with the same crossplay systems in play as are used in the Modern Warfare Multiplayer. All progress from the ‘main game’ will carry over to Warzone and vice versa. If you decide to buy Modern Warfare later, all progress and earned items will carry over to the game retroactively.