Vikki Blake
Guest
Call of Duty: Warzone has promised a "bold new experience" will come to the battle royale next spring, inspired by Black Ops 4's original battle royale mode, Blackout.
In a message posted to X/Twitter, the Call of Duty team appended an image of players dropping from the sky and the words: "Approaching the drop zone… Call of Duty: Warzone is bringing a bold new experience in Spring of 2026 inspired by the original Blackout, set on Avalon."
The Blackout battle royale mode was released alongside Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Call of Duty’s "responsive and forgiving gunplay, nimble movement, and creative but practical equipment fit beautifully into the trendy last man standing format," we said of Blackout in our 2018 review. Blackout was eventually superceded by COD's dedicated battle royale experience, Call of Duty: Warzone, which was in turn spruced up in 2022, but there are plenty of fans who hold a special place in their hearts for the OG mode given the thousands of replies and likes the Twitter tease has received.
While there's been no formal follow-up to any of the questions asking what, exactly, Activision means by the term "experience," the publisher teased: "And here’s just a glimpse on what’s dropping into Call of Duty: Warzone:
- Bold New Blackout Experience on Avalon
- Rebirth Island Refresh
- Verdansk Updates
- Ranked Play
- And MORE!
"Stay tuned for more information as we have more FREE content updates all next year!"
As for the next mainline Call of Duty game? Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 officially releases on November 14, 2025, for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. Those hoping to try before they buy can test Treyarch's updated formula October 5-8 via an open beta. Players willing to pre-order can get in on the action even earlier via an early access beta running October 2–5 — here's when the closed and open betas goes live in your timezone.
Don't forget, Activision recently warned PC gamers that they will not be able to play during the beta and at launch if they do not enable TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Like rival shooter Battlefield 6, TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required for Black Ops 7 to run on PC as part of strict anti-cheat measures to block modified hardware and unauthorized software.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.