Free-to-play ‘Call of Duty: Warzone’ requires Xbox Live Gold

It’s no secret that Infinity Ward has been developing a battle royale mode for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. However, it looks like it’s called “Warzone.” According to a report by MSPoweruser, “players of the newly-updated version of Modern Warfare have been able to glitch their way through the recently added Classified menu… Players will be able to run a training course, host a squad for teams, and matchmake into a random squad… Warzone was also recently leaked through an accidentally released promotional image which was promptly deleted.”

Yesterday, even more details about the game leaked on Twitter. A promotional image surfaced again and it said that the title was a standalone free-to-play experience. Firstly, as expected, it supports cross-play just like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Secondly, it’ll be a last-person-standing or last-team-standing experience. Lastly, classic maps have been integrated to the larger map so you’ll recognize familiar areas.

We also received confirmation from Activision that the free-to-play mode was launching on March 10. However, there’s a downside to it all. On PlayStation 4, you don’t need PlayStation Plus to play it, but on Xbox One, you need Xbox Live Gold. PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold are subscription services that allow you to play multiplayer games on both consoles.

It’s a shame that the Xbox Live Gold requirement hasn’t been removed for free-to-play multiplayer games. Hopefully, that’ll change as we get into the next generation with Xbox Series X. We you excited for Warzone? Will you play it? Let us know. It seems like new players will have to download the entire Call of Duty: Modern Warfare client – that’s around 100 GB – if they want to jump in.