Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) and Warzone will introduce 15 rapid mini-games as part of an upcoming seasonal update to the latest Call of Duty.
The fast-paced games will be bundled into a new mode called COD Warrior, one of several new features included in Season 5.
Here’s all the info on the upcoming season, which could be MW3’s penultimate major update ahead of the release of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 game in October.
When does Season 5 start?
If you still haven’t knocked off the current Battle Pass, you’ll be pleased to learn that Season 4 has some gas left in the tank: Five days to be precise.
Then, Season 5 of Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone gets underway on Wednesday, July 24 at 5pm in the UK. So, the update should be waiting for you when you get home from work.
With new seasons typically lasting around two months, CoD’s summer update could be a fun diversion, but will it be a heatwave or a warm whimper?
What’s new in Multiplayer?
Throughout Season 5, Activision will introduce several core 6V6 maps to multiplayer, including two new additions at launch (the Florida bay-style “Bait” and a cel-shaded desert junk pit called “Yard”), with cel-shaded variants of popular maps Shipment, Rust, and Stash House to come.
COD’s answer to Mario Party?
To begin, the new modes will include Slam Deatmatch (where points are earned by performing WWE finishers on foes); the return of the Arcade playlist, complete with new player abilities “Ground Slam” and “Forcefield” for offense and defense; and COD Warrior (like Mario Party with guns).
The latter is destined to be pure chaos. Turning CoD on its head, one of these quick-play games forces you to withhold fire to survive; another swaps guns for grenades and Riot Shields.
The rules ban respawns but, at a fleeting 15 to 90 seconds a round, you won’t have to wait long for a new game to begin. With 15 mini-games on offer, each featuring three teams of two players, COD Warrior could be ideal counter-programming for those pressed for time.
Furthermore, Activision is promising to add three new game modes mid-season, chief among them a Paintball version of Capture the Flag and Kill Confirmed on small maps.
What’s new in Warzone?
Next week, the game’s fiercely competitive players will blow each other’s heads off amid the aisles of the game’s iconic “superstore,” a soldier’s mecca of the deadliest guns and perks.
You’ll never be short of an armoured plate in the confines of this mock Costco, but you may wind up getting sniped anyway.
Long-time players will know the ins and outs of the superstore, which originally appeared on the Verdansk map on the first Warzone before being retired. This time around, it’s the star of its own mode (Superstore Resurgence) — a chaotic shootout for supremacy over the retail utopia.
It’s one of two new Warzone Resurgence modes bundled in Season 5, the other being Supreme Resurgence. Also bursting with rare loot, the latter offers game-dominating meta-style Weapon Blueprints with unique camos.
In addition, Resurgence is getting a new public event focused on squad-wiping bounties, with big payouts for team kill streaks. Plus, a new drone beacon field upgrade shows your team danger and evasion insights on Maps.
What else is new?
Meanwhile, the final story mission for Zombies starts mid-season, plus there are new rewards for ranked players, new weapons, and WWE wrestlers are being added to the store. You can view all of the new updates on the official Season 5 blog post.
