Sources: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) has big plans for Warzone and more

The next Call of Duty instalment, Vanguard, is out this week, but developer Infinity Ward already has big plans for 2022’s Modern Warfare 2.

That includes plans to introduce a fresh Warzone map based on classic Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer arenas, and a brand new third mode never seen before in Call of Duty.

Activision is doubling down on Call of Duty production this year, following the huge success of Warzone, which has attracted over 100 million players.

• Further Reading: 2022 games

Vanguard will release on November 5 with a World War II campaign and multiplayer developed by Sledgehammer, Zombies mode by Treyarch, and a brand new Warzone map set in the Pacific.

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However, it’s understood that internally, Activision anticipates that next year’s instalment from Infinity Ward could be the series’ most significant since 2019’s reboot.

Alleged new details on Modern Warfare 2 started to emerge last week, including claims that the reboot sequel will include features such as weapon jamming, a new morality system, gore, revamped AI, and more.

According to our sources, these details are mostly correct, but we were told that some educated guesses seem to have been made, likely based on early gameplay shared internally at Activision.

Claims that Modern Warfare 2 (2022) will include a mode similar to Konami’s horror experience P.T., for example, were said to be wide of the mark, according to people with knowledge of Infinity Ward’s plans.

The same sources put doubt on how significant moral story choices and gore would be in the full campaign, but confirmed they were present in some story missions.

Activision declined to comment when given details from this story ahead of publication.

More Call of Duty:

MW3 best loadout  | Best Warzone loadout | MW3 best sniper |  MW3 best shotgun | MW3 MCW loadout

Modern Warfare 2 (2022)’s campaign

As first reported by VGC, Modern Warfare 2’s campaign will be centred around the drug war against Columbian cartels.

Sources said the single-player story is “a grittier take on Modern Warfare 2019’s campaign”, with more close quarters combat, tricky decision making, and the classic Call of Duty set-piece moments fans have come to expect.

Task Force 141 will be returning, providing playable characters in the campaign as well as the operators in the multiplayer side. However, this time Task Force 141 will be scrapping the desert-themed military uniforms and bulky helmets for tiger-striped uniforms and boonie hats.

For the most part, the heavy-duty tanks, jeeps, and planes of previous games will be replaced with military rubber boats and small helicopters which better suit the quiet infiltration of Task Force 141, we were told.

Significantly, Infinity Ward has completely overhauled its AI system, with enemies now holding wounds, screaming and cursing, and reacting more realistically to gunfire to further immerse players when battling the Colombian cartel.

Weapon jamming, character shaking, and other additional animations have been added to the game too, but are cinematic one-off events rather than a continuous feature that happens throughout the campaign, sources said.

Modern Warfare 2 (2022) Warzone map

Perhaps the most significant of Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 plans are focused on Warzone, the free-to-play sensation which launched shortly after the studio’s last premium CoD entry.

According to people with knowledge of the developer’s plans, Modern Warfare 2 will release alongside a brand new map for Warzone: the third such all-new arena to be launched for the battle royale spin-off.

As with Verdansk, which is based on Modern Warfare 2019, and the upcoming Caldera, which will launch shortly after this week’s Vanguard, the new MW2 Warzone map will be comprised of various classic points of interest, we understand.

Locales from the original Modern Warfare 2 will be expanded upon and stitched together, creating a massive new map. This is likely to include a significantly expanded version of Favela, and other classic arenas such as Afghan, Quarry, Terminal, and Trailer Park.

It’s not clear whether the MW2 Warzone map will permanently replace Caldera, or launch alongside it, although it’s understood that publisher Activision has previously been hesitant to offer multiple maps in the game, based on analysis of other battle royales such as PUBG and Fortnite.

Vanguard’s Caldera, like Black Ops Cold War’s Verdansk 84 before it, is planned to permanently replace the previous map, for example, to avoid splitting the community.

Modern Warfare 2’s third ‘Hazard Zone-style’ mode

Infinity Ward’s Warzone map will have a second purpose: to house Modern Warfare 2’s third mode, which is described as a mix of PvP and PvE similar to Battlefield 2042’s upcoming Hazard Zone.

The unnamed game mode, which is said to have been in the making for several years, is expected to see players battling against cartel AI with friends as they attempt to complete objective-based missions within the same MW2 Warzone map.

One person with knowledge of Infinity Ward’s plans suggested that this third mode could possibly replace Zombies in MW2’s line-up, but this could potentially change by release.

Modern Warfare 2 (2022) Multiplayer 

It has been rumoured ever since the release of the original Modern Warfare multiplayer remaster in 2016, that Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer could also be remastered in the future (its campaign was re-released last year).

We understand that development was indeed underway on a remastered version of the second game’s multiplayer at one stage, but that the project was ultimately shelved following Modern Warfare 2019’s successful release, to avoid overshadowing the new game.

However, some of this work is said to be coming to 2022’s reboot sequel, including remastered maps, weapons, and more returning from the original game.

Some maps will return for the core multiplayer experience, but maps have also been expanded upon for Warzone and the unnamed third mode.

Operators will be returning, with several key figures of Task Force 141 being playable, in addition to some of the campaign’s cartel villains, we were told.