Just a couple days after its initial in-game teaser, gameplay footage from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s upcoming battle royale mode has already been leaked. Most rumors and leaks that spring up around huge multiplayer titles like the Call of Duty series from alleged insiders should often be approached with skepticism, but this particular revelation seems completely water-tight.
This news comes hot of the heels of the game’s Season 2 launch, which reintroduced the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 character Ghost as a new operator, in addition to bringing back one of that entry’s fan-favorite maps, Rust. These large additions came alongside a trove of content, including weapons, modes, balance changes, even more maps, and several other morsels that will be held back until later in the season. However, an in-game teaser for an apparent battle royale mode (which is for now demarked as “Classified” in the game’s main menu) has captured the greatest amount of intrigue from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare community, and now they’re already getting their first unofficial peek at how it might play.
Aptly named Warzone according to leakers, video footage of the upcoming battle royale mode’s gameplay tutorial has somehow made its way to YouTube courtesy of Aussie Gamer. The leaked tutorial is set in the “Armistice Training Facility,” a Call of Duty 4 FNG-like obstacle course designed to teach players how looting and other basic gameplay elements will work in Warzone. Most noteworthy is the implementation of a shop system reminiscent of that found in the series beloved Zombies mode, where players spend “Plunder” currency in exchange for various equipment and killstreaks at supply stations strewn across the battlefield. An in-game screenshot of items available at supply stations was tweeted by Bravo Six Report, though it’s not clear if it’s actually an all-inclusive list of everything players will be able to buy when Warzone ships.
As far as veracity goes, numerous unique voice lines from the game’s Coalition faction announcer and the unmistakably hyper-polished gameplay and visuals of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare speak to the fact that this video is almost certainly legitimate. The footage could very well be based on an older version of the mode, but it’s doubtful that what players get when Warzone launches is going to be too terribly different from what’s shown here. So far, the official Season 2 kickoff trailer is still the only thing players have to go on in terms of the Warzone’s map design and likely massive size, but it’s still exciting to know that developer Infinity Ward is making some major gameplay tweaks to what’s become a rather tired formula since battle royale first went mainstream.
Players are probably much closer to Warzone being added to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s growing list of modes than they may realize, and the ready-to-play state of this leaked tutorial further reinforces that likelihood. With Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the franchise safely dipped its toe into the mode due to its popularity as a trend, but Infinity Ward’s stronger entry has the potential to cement battle royale as a shooter mainstay.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Aussie Gamer/YouTube, Bravo Six Report/Twitter
