Out of all the rumors for 2020's Call of Duty, the most prominent subject is the game's setting. Practically every leaker or insider has purported that this year's release will take place during the Cold War in some way. Some have even specified that the setting will specifically be focused on Vietnam or Russia, but overall the consensus seems to be a return to the original Black Ops setting. This does pose an interesting question for Warzone, which is supposedly planned to exist beyond Modern Warfare's lifespan as a live service game.

With Warzone persisting, even though Modern Warfare's lifespan will end once the 2020 release is out, it's very possible that Warzone will evolve with the next Call of Duty release. Warzone could take many forms, either as a full on overhaul like Fortnite's Chapter 2, or as an additional Black Ops mode with a new separate map and loot set. It'd be an understandably difficult undertaking, but there's a couple options for how a Cold War-themed Warzone could release for 2020's annual release.

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Complete Overhaul of Call of Duty: Warzone

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Assuming Warzone stays related to whatever the next Call of Duty annual release is, this fall the battle royale will need to receive a complete and total overhaul of the base foundation. The setting could still remain Verdansk, but if 2020's Call of Duty is going to be based in the Cold War, environments and textures would need a 1950s-1960s update to match the new setting. That means buildings, vehicles, weapons, all of these things would likely need to have their designs altered to match a Cold War-era aesthetic. The layout of the map doesn't necessarily have to change, but it would require combing through the entire map and updating models and environments one by one.

Both Modern Warfare and Warzone have been adding new weaponry in subsequent updates, so it is possible to update the weapon pool. This would likely take a larger update and a lot more work to Warzone to replace all weapons with a Cold War-era loot pool. Not to mention, the custom loadouts from traditional Modern Warfare multiplayer would no longer carry over into loadout drops in Warzone. Overall, this seems unlikely, considering how much work would need to be done to update the existing battle royale to the next Call of Duty game. That's without even considering fan response from current Warzone/Modern Warfare players who wish to keep playing the battle royale as is.

A New, Completely Separate Warzone Release

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What would make more sense would be to launch a new experience, one that could still be called Warzone or some variant of it, alongside or after Call of Duty 2020's release. These two iterations could then be merged together, similar to how Halo does it with the Master Chief Collection. Players could then choose to install one or the other, or both, and contain both in one client as two different versions of the Warzone battle royale. This option makes a lot more sense because it theoretically kills two birds with one stone for Call of Duty: Design and center a battle royale around the setting of 2020's Call of Duty title, whilst also catering to the fans of the existing Warzone.

At the same time, that means designing a completely separate battle royale experience. Since each annual release of Call of Duty typically splits development between three studios, that means the new Warzone would be vastly different from its current iteration. The new battle royale could end up a far cry from the original, and that's without even taking into account the balancing of a new weapon pool, new perks, new equipment, and whatever specific quirks 2020's Call of Duty may have. Things like buy stations, loadout drops, and other options may need to change as well, depending on how everything else balances out.

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Two Different Iterations of Warzone Makes Sense

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Evidence in Warzone has been pointing to some kind of map overhaul, which some believe is linked to the data-mined nuclear bomb teases. Regardless, it's doubtful that Call of Duty would pull a Fortnite Chapter 2 on its most successful cash cow in 2020. If a new iteration of Warzone is in store for 2020's Call of Duty release, it would make more sense to create it as a separate experience. The new battle royale could utilize the engine of this year's Call of Duty to remain familiar, along with translating the same weapons/perks/equipment from the main game into it.

Ideally, both could be bundled together in the same client a la Master Chief Collection, with some freedom as to which Warzone games are downloaded. Modern Warfare has already introduced some file management features for PS4 and Xbox One, so it would make sense to implement that in the next Warzone game. That way, fans of one or the other don't need to waste storage space if they're only consistently play the original or updated Warzone battle royale map.

Either way, don't expect the new 2020 Warzone to release simultaneously with 2020's Call of Duty annual release. Given the significant development problems for this year's Call of Duty title that aren't exactly the best kept secret, the game could even be delayed. Likely this next version of Warzone/battle royale likely won't release until far after the main game has launched.

Call of Duty: Warzone is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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