Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Battle Royale Could be a Separate Game
Ever since the announcement of the next upcoming Call of Duty title, rumours have been circulating widely about a possible Modern Warfare battle royale mode. After all, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 put battle royale centre-stage. However, neither Activision nor Infinity Ward have yet to confirm anything. The latest rumour is that the battle royale mode could actually release in 2020 as a standalone free-to-play game. While, of course, every rumours like this should be taken with a grain of salt, the source in this case has been right before; Twitter user LongSensation has been the source of accurate leaks in the past; both the game’s name and its identity as a reboot were revealed by them.
Modern Warfare Battle Royale Could be a Standalone Free-to-Play Title
LongSensation has Tweeted apparent info about a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare battle royale mode before; seemingly revealing details about map sizes, etc. Interestingly, these two possible leaks don’t contradict one another. Both could be correct. “So apparently Battle Royale in Modern Warfare will be a free mode to release in early 2020,” they write; “it will be downloadable as a separate game, but also will still be connected to the core game. If this is true then it’s a very good move by Activision.”
If this does prove true, it certainly could be prove to be a smart move. Making the battle royale mode free-to-play as a separate game would allow the game to compete more easily with obvious rivals like Apex Legends and Fortnite. Certainly, Fortnite is the game to dethrone; recent quarters have seen interest in Fortnite begin to wane, but the game still remains on top within its market. A major title like Call of Duty, together with no monetary barrier to entry, might prove to be the juggernaut that can finally usurp that top spot.
However, there are also possible issues with such a release. If true, then it will be difficult not to draw parallels with Battlefield 5 Firestorm; a battle royale mode which also launched months after its base game. In its case, this wasn’t necessarily a good decision; although it wasn’t unsuccessful per se, the base game’s below-target sales meant that even fewer players were drawn back months later. A similar situation for Modern Warfare would put more pressure on the game to keep players engaged long-term. After all, if it falls flat, it’s likely that many won’t bother coming back. Framing it as a standalone release could help to counteract this, of course.