New Innovations: Emergent Gameplay

Since releasing Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® in 2019, Infinity Ward has been hard at work to create a new high-watermark for multiplayer fans, and today is ready to reveal a suite of new, innovative features for the highly-anticipated sequel. Whether you’re playing the Campaign or the cooperative modes with your squad, or you’re casually ranking up in Multiplayer or grinding MP competitively, there’s always something to focus on with an entertaining end goal in sight.

Call of Duty: Next showcased the many innovations Infinity Ward have made to ensure you’re getting the deepest Multiplayer experience yet. All of this stems from what Infinity Ward calls “emergent gameplay” — a host of exciting innovations in design and technnology shared across titles seamlessly in all facets of your Call of Duty experience, from menu navigation to social features, to all-new modes of play. This gameplay convergence means that 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.

The new era begins on October 28 with the launch of Modern Warfare® II. The sneak peek at the era-defining Multiplayer features begins tomorrow with the Open Beta.

Today’s Call of Duty: Next event was focused on Multiplayer, though this is just a glimpse of the full game that launches on October 28. Modern Warfare II also features an incredible Campaign you can play up to a week early if you digitally preorder the game, and we are excited to confirm that a robust Special Ops mode – the cooperative intel-gathering, action-packed cooperative experience synonymous with Modern Warfare – as well as a brand-new Raids game mode involving strategic thinking, puzzle-solving and most importantly bouts of intense co-op combat action, launches this year as part of the incredible content drop to come to Modern Warfare II players. Read on for initial intel on both modes, and we can’t wait to tell you much more about Special Ops and Raids soon.

For now, here’s a deeper dive into some of the innovative Multiplayer features, as you gear up and get ready to drop into the Open Beta starting tomorrow:

Water: Swimming and Aquatic Combat

Ask any Operator who dropped into Verdansk, and they’ll tell you even campers in the airport tower weren’t as lethal to your health as accidentally touching water: Drop into the ocean and you died immediately. Fortunately, every Operator in Modern Warfare II has taken swimming lessons; and the new water-based combat is one of incredible technological advancements made by Infinity Ward.

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. Water can be clean, murky, polluted, or have debris floating and bobbing on the surface. Vehicles can be driven into or on top of water, leaving a wake. Most importantly, there’s an abundance of fresh and new gameplay tactics you can employ.

In the Open Beta, maps with water showcase these advancements. Water can be used as a stealth or escape mechanism for you to lurk in or retreat into. If you’re not traversing by boat, wade into water as you would normally, and when the water is deep enough, change stance, or sprint and look down to plunge underwater. Fire underwater using sidearms and certain equipment, and you’ll see your weapon’s projectile is affected by the increased density, meaning you may need to lead 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, when you’re avoiding (or deploying) explosive ordnance….

This is just a sampling of what you should expect when it comes to aquatic advancements in Modern Warfare II.

Additional Intel: Modern Warfare II Open Beta Guide (Guides Live later today, September 15):

• Basics // Firing Guide HERE
• Basics // Movement Guide HERE
• Weapons // Multiplayer Loadout // Equipment Guide HERE

Mantle and Ledge Hang Movements

Modern Warfare (2019) introduced several new movement options, including the Tactical Sprint (the fastest movement option in the game on two feet) and Mounting (allowing the player to fix a weapon to any hard surface).

Modern Warfare II builds on this with additional traversal mechanics, including the following: 

You can either Slide or Dive to the floor, depending on your running speed. As before, a Slide occurs when you go from a Sprint into a Crouch. The new Dive occurs when you go from a Tactical Sprint into a Crouch. Think of the Slide as more combat focused as you land with your gun up, while the Dive doesn’t move you as far along horizontally but allows you to quickly do a tactical drop, enabling a window dive from a building or a swift drop into cover to avoid enemy fire.

For more vertical maneuvering, look for the Ledge Hang. A natural progression from a Climb or Mantle, this allows you to peek from a Mantle and look around. Infinity Ward is also testing the ability to pull up a pistol (if you have one equipped), and engage from a Ledge Hang. Those wanting some spectacular helicopter mounting can jump and Ledge Hang from one. And the days of face-planting into the edge of a building may be numbered; you can now Ledge Hang and Mantle out of a parachute descent, assuming the building has something to hold on to.

Additional Intel: Modern Warfare II Open Beta Guide:

• Basics // Movement Guide HERE

Vehicle Interactivity and Destructibility

Dynamic destruction and more action-oriented maneuvers on the various new vehicles are things that Infinity Ward is particularly focused on innovating. Expect a variety of tactical advancements, including:

• Leaning out of vehicle windows (and shooting, both for the driver and passengers).
• Mantling onto a vehicle roof.
• Destroying vehicle sections (bumpers, 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.

There’s a veritable convoy of all-new vehicles, ready for you to drive, pilot, and ride on in both Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0. Nine of them are land-based, and range from a Hatchback car to a Heavy Tank. All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) return, as well as new Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTVs), Tactical Vehicles (TAC-Vs), SUVs (including a special electric one!), as well as some old favorites like the Cargo Truck. Two tanks and an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) round out the new collection of land rigs.

Take to the skies with the Light Helo as well as a new Heavy Chopper that works a little like an airborne Cargo Truck in terms of carrying capacity. Then take to the waters in the Rigid Inflatable Boat, a nimble craft capable of traversing narrower waterways, or the Armored Patrol Boat with a slower turning circle, but a toughened hull and a mounted .50 Cal machine gun, useful for raiding coastal objectives.

Additional Intel: Modern Warfare II Open Beta Guide:

• Weapons // Vehicles Guide HERE

Tacticals, Lethals, Field Upgrades and Perks

Tactical Equipment and Field Upgrades have more unique options than ever before. Here are some highlights, ready to test during the Open Beta:

Tactical Camera (Field Upgrade)

Throw this at a surface and a small camera and tripod unfolds, monitoring the area (see image below). This is accessible by anyone on your team. Should an enemy approach, the camera emits a warning sound. Throw out multiple cameras for an impressive surveillance system that spots and marks enemies. Imagine the final circle of a Battle Royale, where this can offer you an extra pair of eyes on a structure you can’t visibly see.

Shock Stick (Tactical Equipment)

A tactical piece of equipment with multiple uses, depending on the environment, is the Shock Stick, which adheres to surfaces before sending out a burst of electricity that harms foes, destroys equipment, and causes vehicles to go haywire. But what happens when you throw it into the water? Try it and find out!

Drill Charge (Lethal Equipment)

Foes entrenched inside a building can be a real problem to neutralize. Previously you could throw in a Flashbang, then charge in blasting. A Drill Charge changes all that — lob this onto the outside of a building and it starts to bore a hole (any enemies close by will hear it and see a grenade indicator). Once the drill is through, it launches a grenade that inflicts splash damage that flushes foes out (or rips into vehicles if placed on one).

DDoS (Field Upgrade)

A DDoS attack lets you know if there’s equipment or vehicles in your visual vicinity, deactivates them temporarily, and disrupts enemy sensors in the immediate area. When your foes are scrambled, try lobbing a Drill Charge at a stalled vehicle to force the enemy out. Just one of the various and interesting ways you can combine your or your squad’s equipment. . . .

Inflatable Decoy (Field Upgrade)

Everybody needs a synthetic polymer dummy that rapidly inflates after throwing, appears to be an enemy combatant, and acts as a proximity mine when activated again. It can also be left to fool foes into thinking there’s an enemy where the Decoy was dropped. The possibilities for subterfuge and violent confusion are immense. Also, be sure to help Infinity Ward name this helpful plastic fellow. His current, unofficial name is “Al.”

Perk Packages (Perks)

This consists of four Perks — two base, plus two more known as a “Bonus” and “Ultimate.” All are earned during a Multiplayer match, usually at the 4- and 8-minute mark in non-round-based modes. Kills, assists, objective and tactical plays can unlock these more quickly. Edit your Perk Package in your Loadout or utilize the several premade Default Perk Packages; preplanning a match is now more tactical than ever!

Additional Intel: Modern Warfare II Open Beta Guide:

• Weapons // Equipment Guide HERE
• Weapons // Perk Guide HERE

Gunsmith: Weapons Platforms

With Modern Warfare II, the Gunsmith weapon customization 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:

Weapons Platform Topline Intel

In Modern Warfare (2019), every weapon was a separate family within Gunsmith. Now weapons are grouped into “Platforms”, allowing for complete control over the weaponry you bring into matches, based on your preferred playstyle. Here’s how they work:

• Rank up to receive every base Weapons Platform.
• The first weapon unlocked on a Platform is known by its Receiver.
• The Receiver is an attachment. Think of it as the core of the weapon that determines its primary use and strengths.
• Unlock more Receivers as you progress to access additional weapons within a Platform.
• Change a Receiver, and you completely alter the weapon; it’s considered a “new” weapon when building a Loadout but still lives within the same Weapons Platform.
• A Weapons Platform to try in the Open Beta is the M4. Here you unlock the base M4 AR, as well as four additional Receivers. You can change the style and scope of your armament completely:
  • The four additional M4 Receivers are the M16, the 556 Icarus LMG, the FTac Racon Battle Rifle, and FSS Hurricane SMG.
  • Change the Receiver to build a weapon with different capabilities (an Automatic Rifle, Light Machine Gun, Battle Rifle, or Submachine Gun in the previous example).
• This results in you building out the perfect weapon for a multitude of play styles.

Weapon Attachments: Specific and Universal Attachments

After picking your chosen weapon, start to level it (and the Platform) up, and augment it via two different “pools” of attachments:

• Weapons Platform Attachments: These are attachments usable only within the Weapons Platform. The core one is the Receiver. Expect barrels, magazines, stocks, and rear grips within this attachment subcategory.
• Universal Attachments: These are attachments usable across all Weapons Platforms, and examples include muzzles, underbarrels, ammunition, lasers, and optics.

Weapons use a mixture of Weapons Platform and Universal Attachments. Unlock a Platform Attachment, and it becomes usable across the Weapons Platform.

Unlock a Universal Attachment, and it becomes usable across the entire Gunsmith (for weapons that use the attachment). It only needs to be unlocked once (whether in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Warzone 2.0, or Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile as cross-progression of weapon inventories will be active) leading to an incredibly satisfying attachment progression experience.

Weapon Vaults: The Ultimate Weapon Blueprint

The FJX Cinder Weapon Vault, free to use in the Open Beta and full game for those who preorder the Vault Edition of Modern Warfare II, is an entirely unlocked Weapons Platform. In the case of the FJX Cinder, this is the M4 Weapons Platform. The following details exactly what a Weapon Vault entails:

• Owning a Weapon Vault means having every attachment from an equivalent Weapons Platform ready to use.
• This is the Ultimate Weapon Blueprint, instantly unlocking dozens of platform-native attachments.
• Access immediate customization with a collection of Weapons Platform Specific Attachments — receivers, barrels, stocks, rear grips, and magazines.
• Universal Attachments (optics, ammunition, underbarrels and foregrips, and muzzles) are outfitted to the FJX Cinder once they are unlocked normally.
• Every attachment inside a Weapon Vault features a specific cosmetic appearance; aesthetic properties are maintained across all corresponding attachments.
• Weapon Vaults are designed for those who care about appearance just as much as effectiveness, especially for a specific Weapons Platform.

The Open Beta allows you to utilize many of these Gunsmith innovations. Expect to have the full assortment of attachments and customization in the full game.

Additional Intel: Modern Warfare II Open Beta Guide:

• Basics // Firing Guide HERE
• Multiplayer Loadout // FJX Cinder Guide HERE
• Multiplayer Loadout // Weapons and Gunsmith Guide HERE

New Maps, Modes, and Third-Person Perspective

Call of Duty: Next and the Open Beta are showcasing Infinity Ward’s design focus and refinement across a variety of MP maps and modes. Initially, there are two types of MP maps for you to play:

Battle Maps (Up to 32v32)

Maps created for Ground War are known collectively as Battle Maps, and are based on key learnings from the creation of Call of Duty: Warzone’s Verdansk. Topline intel includes the following:

• Battle Maps are accessible within the Ground War modes, with multiple squads of players per team.
• They are nested within the worlds of Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, allowing the teams to stress-test the areas for hundreds of hours, adjusting and refining as they go.
• This allowed the team to optimally lay out the Battle Map (and by extension, a POI within Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0) to cater to almost any circumstance, leading to a well-rounded experience in both Ground War and Battle Royale.
• Every building can be explored, vehicles can be driven, and various styles of gameplay are available within a single Battle Map.
• AI combatants appear on Ground War maps in the new Invasion Mode, adding atmosphere and providing the sense of a living, breathing world. This results in gameplay that is both chaotic and supremely satisfying.

Core Maps (6v6)

Nesting the larger Battle Maps within the Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 worlds enabled Infinity Ward to further refine the core maps:

• If Ground War maps present large-scale combat and warfare, Core 6v6 maps are where special Task Forces are deployed to neutralize opposing factions throughout the world.
• All the Core 6v6 MP maps are custom-made, built exclusively for 6v6 game modes. They are slightly smaller and more straightforward in design than previous MP maps.
• Compare this to Farm 18, a training facility in an undisclosed location within an old, abandoned cement factory and a “Shoothouse” in the middle of it.
• Mercado Las Almas is a small bustling marketplace with fast-paced routes and lanes that blend together that lead to pure, frenetic fun.
• Expect a robust series of additional maps for Modern Warfare II at launch and across every subsequent season.

New Mode: Knockout

Aside from the fan-favorite core modes like Team Deathmatch and Domination, the following three brand-new modes are scheduled during the Open Beta. The first is Knockout:

• Eliminate the opposing force or hold the package to win. No respawns. Teammates can revive each other.
• Knockout takes elements from Modern Warfare’s 2v2 Gunfight and from the final circle action within Call of Duty: Warzone. It is a very fast, very tactical round-based mode.
• Two teams fight over a bag of Cash placed in the middle of the map. Running over the bag captures it for the team, with the bag holder’s position appearing on the minimap.
• You can drop the bag at will or after you’re downed. Hold the bag for 60 seconds, or eliminate the entire enemy team and win the round.
• This emphasizes team play; the use of Equipment, Field Upgrades, Killstreaks, and defensive tactics; and split-second decisions as you try to lock that bag down!

New Mode: Prisoner Rescue

A mode made with innovations to the equipment in mind and with “breach and siege” gameplay front and center:

• Leave no man behind. Locate the hostages and get them out alive or defend them at all costs. No respawns. Team revives are enabled.
• What happens when you take Search & Destroy and crank up the stakes? Each team has a prisoner to protect, held close to their spawn area.
• The hostages are impervious to enemy weaponry, but they’re immobile. Find the enemy hostage and carry them back to your extraction point.
• The Operator holding the prisoner is slowed, uses a sidearm, and can’t perform certain actions (like going prone or climbing).
• Points are awarded for every prisoner prevented from being extracted (Defenders) or for every prisoner extracted or held at the end of the round (Attackers), or if the defenders are neutralized.
• Ensure you have enough teammates to defend your prisoner while pushing forward to secure the opposition’s hostage. This can lead to a variety of sieging opportunities and outcomes.

New Mode: Invasion (Ground War)

Crank up the mayhem in a massive Deathmatch set across sprawling maps:

• This is war. A massive and chaotic battle with a mix of player and AI fighting alongside each other and against each time. Earn points by eliminating the AI and human enemies with Loadout items, vehicles, Killstreaks, and UAV or Counter-UAV assistance.
• The goal is straightforward — eliminate or be eliminated — but the fighting is fraught and involves more troops than any previous Ground War experience.
• Each team starts with multiple squads of human Operators, bolstered by AI combatants, all infiltrating the map from a headquarters.
• Advance! Each team — on foot or aboard a variety of vehicles — pushes forward, and the game determines a front line; this front line is the average player position across the battlefield for each team, which is used to determine respawn locations.
• Neutral Killstreak Care Packages periodically drop throughout the map. Grab one — don’t be on the receiving end of one!
• The team with the most points at the end of an allotted time wins.

A New Perspective: Third Person

Offering up a new tactical way to play Multiplayer, it’s time for a change of perspective:

• Across Multiplayer and specific modes within Modern Warfare II are clearly defined “Third-Person” Playlists.
• The intent for the Open Beta and launch is to keep Third-Person and First-Person Playlists separate, but feedback and gameplay could change this plan.
• 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” (change the view from your right to left shoulder), assisting you when peeking around corners.
• Zooming is automatic whenever the camera moves, and the camera stops before colliding with objects you’re close to, encouraging you to pivot for a better view.
• Your crosshair is automatically set in the middle of the screen, along with an “X” — sometimes in a separate crosshair — whenever the camera is angled behind an object. This shows where a bullet would hit if you fired the weapon.
• When you’re aiming down sights (ADS), the perspective switches to a First-Person view, allowing for more accurate firing.

Additional Intel: Modern Warfare II Open Beta Guide:

• Basics // Third-Person Guide HERE
• Play // Map Intel Guides HERE
• Play // Mode Recon Guides HERE

More Intel: PlayStation® Exclusive Operator, Special Ops, Raids Content

PlayStation® Exclusive** Operator: Hiro “Oni” Watanabe

PlayStation players who preorder Modern Warfare II through the PlayStation Store will receive an exclusive Operator, Hiro “Oni” Watanabe, at launch. Oni is a warrior and gun-for-hire who descended from a centuries-old samurai clan. Torn between country and family, he honors the code of the samurai while fighting to clear his disgraced family name. This additional Operator also brings with him a high-level Weapon Blueprint. Oni, and his equipment, will be playable in both Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0.

Firing Range

Once you’ve tuned your meta-defining weapon in the Gunsmith, get a true sense of your weapon’s handling by testing it out in the Firing Range, an offline testing ground with three firing lanes, ledges for mantling, and multiple targets at different ranges.

Special Ops

Continue the story after the Modern Warfare II Campaign concludes with this in-depth two-player cooperative experience allowing you to explore large-scale hot zones with your fellow squadmate. Assemble your two-person strike team for a number of branching operations against [REDACTED], available at launch.

Raids

Confirmed for Modern Warfare II players later this year after launch, Raids are a whole new experience for the franchise — a three- player cooperative engagement requiring teamwork and strategic, puzzle-solving thinking in-between bouts of intense combat.

COD Shop: Celebration: 20% Off

In celebration of Call of Duty: Next, we are offering 20% off all items across the Call of Duty Shop for our Call of Duty community. Drop in at the Call of Duty Shop here. Gear up, and use promo code NEXT20 at checkout. Offer ends September 18.

RICOCHET Anti-Cheat™ on Day One

RICOCHET Anti-Cheat – including its PC kernel-level driver – will be active on Day One for both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0. RICOCHET Anti-Cheat is upgraded and improved for both games, combining a year of updates from #TeamRICOCHET with new features and mitigations to protect the game.

You’ve Seen What’s Next: Play the Beta and Look to the Future

Despite the sheer volume of content described in this blog, this is merely scratching the surface of the content to come across Call of Duty. For now, test out the features in the Open Beta, and remember that the innovations you’re seeing during Call of Duty: Next are simply the start of a years-long journey to come with our players.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 are published by Activision. Development for both games is led by Infinity Ward with additional development support provided (in alphabetical order) by Activision Central Design, Activision Central Tech, Activision Localization Dublin, Activision QA, Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, and Treyarch.

Stay frosty.

**PS players receive select bonus content not available on other platforms until Oct. 27, 2023. 

© 2019-2022 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE, MODERN WARFARE, and WARZONE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

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