Sledgehammer Games shocked the Call of Duty community when they unveiled some never-before-seen details about a new Warzone map: The Pacific. According to the organization, the map is making its way into the battle royale “shortly after Vanguard launches.” Currently, there’s no set timetable for its arrival.
The map is a complete shift from the art direction that Verdansk took. Instead of dreary and war-torn landscapes, The Pacific is a vibrant locale, complete with a tropical theme and aquatic element.
The Pacific map in Warzone
Although there is no official release date for The Pacific map in Warzone, it should release sometime in late Nov. to early Dec. It will likely arrive with Season 1 of Vanguard, which will also introduce the integration of the two games.
When The Pacific is released, players can expect a slew of new elements in Warzone, most likely the biggest of which is dynamic weather. In the short presentation on The Pacific, Sledgehammer Games showcased some rain and wind that changed players’ views of the map. Players can see dark clouds in the promotional screenshots to back this up.
The Pacific will also allow players to experience a new type of gameplay. In Verdansk, there are cities and a large number of buildings scattered across the map. Conversely, The Pacific features wide-open spaces with minimal man-made structures. This is reminiscent of Blackout, Call of Duty’s first battle royale. So, perhaps players will have to use their guns more in The Pacific than in Verdansk — where they could hide in buildings. However, there appears to be some caves on The Pacific map, which provides an underground element to Warzone.
A new chapter of Warzone?
One of the things that the community took away from the recent Warzone presentation was how the developers talked about The Pacific map. They called the upcoming installment of Warzone “a new chapter,” and referred to Warzone as “Warzone Pacific.” There’s no indication as to what this means, but some players have speculated that Warzone will be split up into two mini-games. One side of it will have Verdansk as a playable map, complete with all of the old weapons and attachments that players have now. The other game would be the new Pacific map in Warzone.
A game featuring the new map would have Vanguard weapons, perks and killstreaks, and it wouldn’t have the Modern Warfare and Cold War aspects. Taking it a step further, Activision could also simply scrap what’s currently in Warzone and just have the new version with Vanguard and The Pacific map.
When Vanguard is launched, Warzone could have over 100 weapons in the game. It seems plausible they would need to start fresh sooner rather than later. Of course, fans might be upset with how many bundles they’ve bought and weapons they’ve leveled up for the current version of Warzone. However, this is all speculative.
Warzone and Vanguard integration
Speaking of the next installment, the integration of Warzone and Vanguard should be similar to last year’s integration with Cold War. It will introduce all of the Vanguard weapons, perks, attachments coming to Warzone. There’s no word on exactly how it will work or when it will arrive, but it will likely come shortly before, or with the launch of, Season 1.
Sledgehammer has confirmed that Warzone will use the Vanguard engine and technology, though. Therefore, players can expect the game to feel extremely similar to Vanguard’s multiplayer.
It seems like Activision is planning to change Warzone in more ways than one when Vanguard launches. The details of this are unknown but Warzone players have reason to be excited come Nov.
