CoD: Warzone 2.0 Release Date: Season 1 Preloading And Release Time

Both Modern Warfare 2 Season 1 and Warzone 2.0 have officially launched. For more on the games, check out the patch notes and DMZ weapon loadout tips.

Call of Duty Warzone 2.0 is scheduled to launch alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Season 1 today, November 16. It'll be one of the biggest days Call of Duty has seen in a very long time, and it's also when we can play the brand-new DMZ mode. Here's everything we know about the big update, including when you can preload, the Season 1 start time, and what they include in both games.

Call of Duty Season 1 start times

Season 1 is set to arrive on November 16 for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0. The start time is universal across regions, beginning at 10 AM PT that day:

• 10 AM PT
• 12 PM CT
• 1 PM ET
• 7 PM BST

You can preload the Modern Warfare 2 update beginning on November 14 at the same time. Additionally, this is when you can begin preloading Warzone 2.0, which is reportedly over 100 GB, so you'll want to do this ahead of time.

What to expect from Season 1

Season 1 for Modern Warfare and the new Warzone will likely include the standard seasonal content with a battle pass, new operators, weapon bundles, and seasonal challenges. There will also probably be some weapon tuning and bug fixes in the update as well.

Modern Warfare 2

For Modern Warfare 2, Activision has already teased that Season 1 would include the return of a fan-favorite multiplayer map. Additional missions are also confirmed to be arriving to Modern Warfare 2's cooperative Spec Ops mode. The mission "High Ground" features one operator in the field attempting to locate three hard drives while another pilots an attack helicopter to destroy land mines standing in their way.

Call of Duty's Hardcode mode, which is a multiplayer playlist featuring lower health and removed HUD, did not launch with Modern Warfare 2 this year. Instead, Infinity Ward announced the Hardcore playlist has been renamed as "Tier 1" and would arrive with the start of Season 1. This is also when the Combat Record will arrive, letting you see your kill-death ratio and other stats for your career rather than just individual matches.

Four new weapons and six new operators will be available in Season 1. Two weapons are included for free in the battle pass. The other two (Chimera and M13B) are included in the store or through weapon unlock challenges.

• Vicious XMR Sniper Rifle
• BAS-P SMG
• Chimera Assault Rifle
• M13B Assault Rifle

Later in the season, players can expect Raids to arrive. The Raids feature is launching as a part of Spec Ops mode, as Activision said Spec Ops would receive the first episode of Raids for players to master on December 14 with the start of the midseason update. Raids are described as a three-player co-op "engagement" that Activision says will require "teamwork and strategic puzzle-solving" in between intense firefights. Raids also sound like they'll include some additional narrative, as Activision mentioned Raids as being "a direct continuation of the campaign."

For those looking for a competitive challenge, a CDL Moshpit playlist is set to arrive in Season 1. Specific details weren't given, but this playlist will likely feature the modes being used for the Call of Duty League's 2023 season. Call of Duty's competitive Ranked Play mode has been confirmed for Modern Warfare 2 sometime in 2023, which will feature the maps and modes of the CDL with the inclusion of skill divisions, leaderboards, and rewards, but this will likely arrive after Season 1.

Warzone 2.0

A new free-to-play sequel arrives for Warzone. Warzone 2.0 features the brand-new Al Mazrah map, which will introduce brand-new circle mechanics, with multiple circles appearing and changing the end-game scenarios before merging into one final circle.

Al Mazrah will also feature a revamped and more complex "Gulag 2.0," where players must battle it out via 2v2 instead of the normal 1v1 arena. Here we highlight all the changes and new Gulag features players can expect. For more details on Warzone 2.0's content, you can check out our full breakdown.

DMZ mode

The launch of Warzone also includes the arrival of DMZ, which Activision described as an all-new "sandbox experience" played out on the Al Mazrah map. We still don't have many details on DMZ, but this is set to be an extraction mode with similarities to Escape from Tarkov. More information on the mode should be coming closer to launch.

Modern Warfare 2 released on October 28, and it earned $800 million worldwide in just three days, which topples the initial sales of 2011's Modern Warfare 3 as the previous record-holder. For more on Modern Warfare 2, check out GameSpot's Modern Warfare 2 campaign and multiplayer reviews.