According to new rumors, Activision Blizzard is planning a special coup with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare . They are separating the battle royale mode “Warzone” from the main game, launching it as a standalone title free to play and are targeting Fortnite . They seem to be following the strategy of the 2019 hit Apex Legends, according to our author Schuhmann.
This is the situation: Since February 2019, it has been known that Activision Blizzard is planning “something big” for the post-launch period of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. What is coming after the launch is supposed to be a “never before seen experience for Modern Warfare” and offer a “huge multiplayer world”.
Since November 2019, it was actually known that it would be a battle royale mode. More and more leaks emerged. Warzone is said to feature a massive map, where 200 players can play. In the Gulag, there will be “1vs1” fights over who can rejoin the match.
However, today some information has leaked, that makes it all even more exciting:
- The new mode is supposed to be separated from “Modern Warfare”, appear as a standalone game, and be free to play.
Test run for Warzone already took place in January 2019
This is why it is so credible: The current information makes absolute sense when you consider it. It’s like someone just handed us the missing pieces for a puzzle we’ve been pondering over for weeks.
In 2019, Activision Blizzard already conducted a test run following exactly this pattern as described now. Back then, Activision Blizzard temporarily separated the battle royale mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Blackout, for a week and made it available for free.
Ultimately, that was a “test” for the current action.
New information fits perfectly into the strategy
What does Activision Blizzard want to achieve with this? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is huge, but it’s a purchase title.
In 2018, the free battle royale game, Fortnite, and in 2019, “Apex Legends”, which was also available for free, created a lot of hype.
Activision Blizzard calculates that by offering its own free game, it can attract the young target groups who are used to free games and do not want to pay full price. They can then be monetized immediately through microtransactions and excited about the Call of Duty brand in the long term. Those who get hooked on Warzone now might buy the next Call of Duty at full price by the end of the year.
A Call of Duty: Warzone also fills a gap in Activision Blizzard’s repertoire, as such a free-to-play shooter is missing. Activision Blizzard already signaled clearly in its financial report in May 2019 that it is moving towards free-to-play – although it was thought that Activision Blizzard meant Overwatch.
In January 2019, analyst Michael Pachter already announced that Overwatch and Blackout would go free-to-play in 2019 – he was perhaps a bit ahead of his time.
Surprise launch and influencers should help
How do they plan to achieve this? Through a surprise launch in early March 2020, Activision Blizzard apparently hopes to achieve the same effect that Apex Legends managed in February 2019: Suddenly, during a quiet period, everything revolved around the shooter, which appeared like out of nowhere without major announcements.
If the rumors are true, Call of Duty: Warzone will also copy the strategy of Apex Legends and start immediately with Twitch streamers.
They reportedly have already been able to test the mode – surely some advertising contracts have also been signed.
The current leaks that appear almost daily contribute to the growing hype around the title. The same happened back then with Apex Legends. Before it was also “accidentally” revealed, that something was brewing that could be released soon.
However, the ultimate goal of the campaign is not Apex Legends, but Call of Duty wants to reach the 250 million Fortnite players (as of March 2019). Because Fortnite has converted many “non-gamers” into gamers as a free-to-play phenomenon in 2018 and 2019. Whoever can win this group of players will have hit the jackpot.
Activision Blizzard wants exactly that. The CEO Bobby Kotick dreams of entertaining one billion players with his games by 2024. Call of Duty: Warzone would fit perfectly into this strategy.
Whether this theory will hold true, we should know in the coming days. Because supposedly, Activision Blizzard will soon start its advertising campaign.
