How does Modern Warfare’s Warzone differ from Black Ops 4’s Blackout?

The newly launched Warzone might remind you of Black Ops 4‘s Blackout mode, but know Warzone is a wholly different game. Blackout couldn’t quite contend with the big, bad battle royales commanding all the attention at the time. In the years since Blackout released, the folks at Activision have been able to carefully study what makes a battle royale the best.

Call of Duty: Warzone stands a chance against the likes of Fortnite, perhaps because of the ways it differs from Blackout. First, Warzone is totally free-to-play and available to all. Even prospective players who skipped out on purchasing the new Modern Warfare can get in on the action. It’s a fairly straightforward, familiar game too, so you won’t have to be familiar with any of the plotlines involved in Modern Warfare. Blackout, on the other hand, told a twisting story of science, magic, and yes, zombies. You shouldn’t expect any zombies to appear in Warzone … for now.

Warzone is, overall, a much more accessible battle royale created with all kinds of players in mind rather than just Call of Duty fans. This is one reason why Warzone is likely to see more success than its predecessor. The map is also ridiculously big with dozens of points of interest and places to play hide-and-seek. 

Blackout outfitted players dropping into the map with some pretty impressive wingsuits that let them glide wherever they wanted. In Warzone, players will have to choose their jump zone wisely as they only have a low-tech parachute to jump with. But hey, you might just find a helicopter on the map if you’re lucky.

Activision learned a lot from Blackout, and has put these lessons to good use in Warzone. Don’t expect to play a Blackout with a new paint job: Warzone is a unique experience.