Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's first season launches with "biggest free content drop in COD history"
New maps! Multiplayer modes! More!
It's Christmas come early for Call of Duty fans, as the launch date for Modern Warfare's first season has been revealed - along with a significant amount of free stuff. So much free stuff, in fact, Infinity Ward has labelled it the "biggest free content drop in Call of Duty history". Although, I'd argue raining men from spawns also qualifies for that category.
Starting 3rd December, Modern Warfare players will have access to a host of new maps, including three new multiplayer maps, several 2v2 Gunfight maps and a new Ground War map. There's also two new weapons - the RAM-7 and Holger-26, new multiplayer modes Reinforce and Infected, and a variation on Gunfight mode called On Site Procurement, in which players begin a match with just their fists and gather equipment as the match progresses. On top of that, there's a range of new Spec Ops co-op missions, including one called Pitch Black which involves infiltrating Barkov's former estate.
Personally, I'm excited to see the return of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's maps Crash, Vacant and Shipment - which fit nicely into the reboot theme of this Modern Warfare. You can take a look at the preview for the content in the tweet below, and find a more detailed roadmap on the Call of Duty website.
The free content drop is certainly a hefty addition to the game, although not a complete surprise: a few weeks ago, a Reddit user posted a list of 38 datamined maps, which included many of the maps now revealed in the free content drop. Sounds like we've got plenty more to look forward to.
Given Infinity Ward previously announced plans for a battle pass (who doesn't have one these days?), we should also expect to see paid content announced soon. Activision stated it would not monetise through loot boxes, and promised content in the battle pass and the in-game store would be cosmetic-only. There are no plans for season passes or DLC multiplayer maps (to avoid splitting the player base), so it seems a lot hangs on the success of the premium battle pass.
Another addition that seems likely is Modern Warfare's battle royale mode, which was subject to a huge datamine earlier this month. The leak detailed a player count of 200 and an enormous map comprised of several Spec Ops and Ground War maps. Keep an eye out for that in early 2020, which is reportedly when it's due to release.