Call Of Duty Next: The latest on Modern Warfare II, Warzone 2.0 and Warzone Mobile

The day has finally arrived for all fans of Call of Duty to find out just what is in store for the juggernaut franchise, with the Call Of Duty Next showcase covering all the bases whether you are playing on PC, consoles, or even on mobile. That's right, Activision Blizzard and its studios have given us a full rundown of what to expect when it comes to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II's multiplayer, Warzone 2.0, and Warzone Mobile.

Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare II Multiplayer

With a new era of Call of Duty beginning this Oct 28, together with the Open Beta starting on Sept 16 Infinity Ward can finally reveal more about Modern Warfare II multiplayer.

At the heart of it all is emergent gameplay, a host of exciting innovations in design and technology shared across titles seamlessly in all facets of the Call of Duty experience.

Whatever your playstyle, you can expect deep franchise connectivity uniting Modern Warfare II, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile.

Swimming and aquatic combat

No longer is water the biggest enemy. Action now occurs above, on, and in water. The Modern Warfare II game engine's water physics captures the currents and rapids in rivers and large, cresting waves in oceans, and there's an abundance of fresh and new gameplay tactics you can employ as shown at Call Of Duty Next.

Water can be used for stealth or as an escape mechanism, while firing from beneath the depths require leading your aim. If you're checking for caches, they may be submerged and require you to swim to them.

Re-evaluate how each piece of equipment, particularly Tactical items, can achieve on or under the water; you'll need all-new strategies when attacking boats, enemies below the water's surface, and more.

Mantle and ledge hang movements

Players can now slide or drive to the floor, depending on running speed. As for verticality, the ledge hang will allow you to peek from a mantle and look around. The days of face-planting into the edge of a building will also exist no longer; you can now Ledge Hang and Mantle out of a parachute descent, assuming the building has something to hold on to.

Vehicle interactivity and destructibility

Dynamic destruction and more action-oriented manoeuvres on the various new vehicles are things that Infinity Ward is particularly focused on innovating, this includes:

• Leaning out of vehicle windows (and shooting, both for the driver and passengers).
• Mantling onto a vehicle roof.
• Destroying vehicle sections (bumpers, and doors can be destroyed with an RPG or high-powered rifle)
• Blowing out tires, slowing or incapacitating a vehicle.
• Having the ability to employ multiple ground, air, and water vehicles, depending on the game mode and map.
• New vehicles and rides will be available on the land, sea, and the air, so be sure to add them to your arsenal.

Tacticals, lethals, field upgrades and perks

Tactical Equipment and Field Upgrades have more unique options than ever before, such as using Tactical Cameras for surveillance, a Shock Stick to harm both foes and vehicles, or a Drill Charge to make breaching that much easier.

Perks are also getting a change, with Perk Packages consisting of two base and two more Bonus and Ultimate perks, all earned during a match. Contribute well and you can unlock them quickly to make your day much easier.

Gunsmith: Weapons platforms

With Modern Warfare II, the Gunsmith weapon customisation system receives brand-new enhancements, enabling you to create an extension of your personal playstyle like never before. The biggest innovation is the Weapons Platform, where weapons are grouped together more logically and progress applies across the board, with unlocks allowing for the perfect weapon to be built to your play style.

New maps and modes

Call of Duty Next and the Open Beta will be showcasing Infinity Ward's design focus and refinement across a variety of maps and modes, with Battle Maps and Core Maps being the focus.

The former is designed for Ground War, taking place within the worlds of Warzone 2.0, and expanding gameplay options. Every building can be explored, vehicles can be driven, and various styles of gameplay are available within a single Battle Map. AI combatants also appear on Ground War maps in the new Invasion Mode, adding atmosphere and providing the sense of a living, breathing world.

As for the latter, these are all custom-made maps built exclusively for 6v6 modes. They are slightly smaller and more straightforward in design than previous maps. Players can expect a robust series of additional maps for Modern Warfare II at launch and across every subsequent season.

For new modes, we are looking at Knockout, where there are revives and no respawns, with the elimination of opposing forces or possession of the package will net you the win. Prisoner Rescue tasks players to locate all hostages and get them out alive with no respawns, while Invasion (Ground War) sees a massive deathmatch taking place across the huge map.

A New Perspective: Third person

Offering up a new tactical way to play multiplayer, it's time for a change of perspective across clearly defined playlists. In this mode, the camera is set a few feet back over the right shoulder of your Operator. This allows you more perspective on your overall surroundings, in exchange for less depth of field in front of you.

You're able to shoulder swap, assisting you when peeking around corners. When aiming down sights (ADS), the perspective switches to a First-Person view, allowing for more accurate firing.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0

To get things out of the way, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 will launch - free for everyone - this 16 November as part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Season One. This means a new map in Al Mazrah and the consistency of tech and innovation from the mainline game.

Players can expect the same aquatic combat goodness in Warzone 2.0 as shown at Call of Duty Next, and over a dozen unique vehicles in the battle royale.

The shop

Together with the new and impressive array of ground loot and adjustments on how to access and store them, one of the biggest innovations is the expanding, yet streamlining of purchases within a match through The Shop.

These enhanced Buy Stations serve as locations to buy and upgrade equipment and weapons, including the custom weapons you created before dropping in and squadmates buybacks.

Circles collapse

Those used to the collapsing circle will need to be on their toes, as this time, expect variations such as extreme weather patterns that can create multiple circles that reconverge into a single safe zone as time passes.

The Gulag

Players will enter into a multi-level arena with only their fists, and a plan to loot, shoot, and win a decisive 2v2 battle before being allowed back into the big map for a second chance at victory. Optionally, your Gulag combat can include searching for an AI combatant known as The Jailer, dropping him, and using his key as the means of escape. Don't forget to loot as you go; that gear comes with you if you win.

AI Combatants and strongholds

There are more than human Operators active within the Al Mazrah warzone; this is a living, breathing world with a number of AI combatants ready to defend their patch of land, all integrated into the fabric of the world.

It's entirely your choice to engage the non-player combatants scattered across the map, AI won't actively pursue you or your squad, and you can choose never to interact with them. AI combatants have a variety of lethality levels and behaviours and are usually encountered in specific areas of the map.

Conquer a Stronghold and expect impressive loot, including an item that allows you to purchase one of your customised Gunsmith weapons at The Shop for free.

DMZ

There is a special "extraction mode" coming to Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0. Known as DMZ, this is a passion project for the teams at Infinity Ward and across the contributing studios, and the main premise is about choosing your own experience within the warzone, working socially if you wish, and collecting gear to keep in your Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 inventory and utilize from match to match. The team will have much more to share about the host of new challenges, bounties, gameplay features and more when DMZ drops alongside Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0.

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile

As part of Call Of Duty Next, the team also revealed their new vision for a battle royale on the go, with an all-new unique Call of Duty: Warzone experience for 120 live players and cross-progression with Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile will join the other offerings in ushering in a new era of Call of Duty. Leveraging new unified technology, players can share many social features and cross-progression, enabling a shared Battle Pass and more for a connected Call of Duty experience.

Call of Duty: Warzone experience on your mobile device

At launch, players will drop into the legendary Verdansk map on mobile for the very first time. This is the Verdansk just like you remember, from the snow-lined ridges near the Military Base to the hot drop of SuperStore, get ready to fight through hallmark vistas, urban areas, open battlegrounds, and everywhere in-between. The new Al Mazrah map will also become available in the future.

Similarly, players will be able to roll up in new vehicles, use the various Buy Stations, engage in Contracts, and escape out of the Gulag.

Deep franchise connectivity with cross-progression

Expanding on the consistency across the entire franchise, mobile players will get many of the same weapons and Operators, always making progress no matter where they play, and easily stay in touch using social features.

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile: Built for mobile players

Every aspect of the game's development is customised for mobile gamers, delivering a high level of accuracy, authenticity and performance optimised for mobile. There are also deep customisation options for all sorts of players, while a robust selection of mobile-specific events, customised playlists, and a variety of special content not found anywhere else will differentiate the mobile experience.

Pre-registrations Open

Eager beavers can get ready to drop in on launch day by pre-registering for Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile now via the Google Play Store, with rewards coming your way if certain milestones are hit:

• Five Million Pre-registrations: Emblem: Dark Familiar and Vinyl: Foe's Flame  
• 10 Million Pre-registrations: Blueprint (X12): Prince of Hell.
• 15 Million Pre-registrations: Blueprint (M4): Archfiend.

ALSO READ: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will release on Oct 28

This article was first published in Geek Culture.