Call of Duty: Modern Warfare just got a massive season 2 update that added characters and maps from the series’ past, but it appears to have also included a hint of future changes. Eagle-eyed fans discovered a new area that may relate to a rumored battle royale mode.
Speculation around the possible gameplay option began heating up when players noticed that the season 2 update added a locked “Classified” option on the game’s main menu between multiplayer and co-op.
Conjecture intensified when fans discovered a new in-game cutscene that shows soldiers parachuting out of an airplane onto a large, not-yet-included map. Considering that most battle royale games begin with jumping out of some kind of aircraft, the video seems like a deliberate hint of a new battle royale feature. A wall of green gas can also be seen in the background, which is reminiscent of the genre’s standard circle-closing mechanic.
Players went one step further and found the full map teased in the cutscene within the game itself. One player discovered that others can see the new map by starting a private match on Atlas Superstore and switching to spectator mode. The player was able to fly to the top of the sky to get a low-resolution view of the full area.
If you go to Atlas Superstore in a private match and become the COD caster you can explore the entire map. It is all low quality because you don't see it in regular gameplay. I flew all the way up in the sky to get the overview :) pic.twitter.com/QpiVaBd7Un
— Ryan B. (@PrestigeIsKey) February 12, 2020
The map contains several buildings and larger structures, which appear to snake around a snow-topped mountain range. Among the notable landmarks are an airbase and what appears to be a gigantic arena.
While none of this is explicit confirmation, the clues seem to back up speculation about the new game mode. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which released in 2018, featured a battle royale mode called Blackout, so it’s not hard to believe that Modern Warfare will follow suit. The map discovered in the game is notably different from Blackout’s map, with no water flowing through it. That seems to imply that boats will not return as a vehicle option in the new mode.
Despite all the clever sleuthing, Activision remains tight-lipped on whether a battle royale mode will even come to the franchise’s latest release. We reached out to Activision for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
