Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Rumors Hint at Battle Royale Update

Evidence suggests that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (no, not that one…the new one) will soon be getting a battle royale mode. 

Said evidence is based on a series of official hints, speculation, and reported datamining. It really started with the recent (massive) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare update which seems to have added a new section to game’s main menu which is currently obscured by the word “CLASSIFIED.” It would appear that this section is related to a new game mode. Considering that one of Black Ops 4‘s most popular game modes was its Blackout battle royale gametype, it makes sense that fans would jump to the conclusion that an updated battle royale mode is coming to Modern Warfare. 

However, there’s more to this than just some wishful thinking. Modern Warfare‘s Season 2 cinematic features a sequence that sees soldiers in an airplane approaching a large area that appears to be surrounded by gas. That map certainly appears to be fit for a battle royale zone as areas in the genre typically rely on some kind of outside force that requires players to compete in a gradually shrinking area. 

Further evidence that a battle royale mode is coming to Modern Warfare starts to become a little more speculative/questionable. Users on YouTube and Reddit claim that there’s a glitch in the game that allows you to explore the new map by flying over it. That media appears to be legitimate (and people are reporting using similar methods to reach this area), but there hasn’t been total confirmation regarding the legitimacy of this information. Besides, even if the map that we see in these photos and videos is real, there is no confirmation that it relates to an upcoming battle royale mode. 

Having said all of that, we’d be surprised if Modern Warfare doesn’t get a battle royale update sometime in the near future. Not only does the battle royal genre remain incredibly popular, but the Blackout mode in Black Ops 4 breathed new life into the aging franchise. Many people were surprised that Modern Warfare didn’t feature a similar mode at launch, but some speculated that Activision may limit such modes to new Black Ops titles. 

There’s some debate regarding whether or not fans will be happy/willing to purchase a new game every year just to play a battle royale mode that may not even be supported until the time of the release of the next CoD game, but we’ll just have to wait and see how that all plays out. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.