UPDATE: Surprise surprise, a countdown timer has appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and it’s almost certainly the release time for the new battle royale mode.
Under the “classified” tab of the menu you can find a 24-hour countdown clock, which ends at 3pm GMT tomorrow. In light of the gameplay leak earlier today, it seems this is probably the time the battle royale mode will go live for those who own Modern Warfare – but we’ll have to see if the free-to-play download releases at the same time.
ORIGINAL STORY: Whoops, looks like someone messed up the embargo, as gameplay footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s battle royale mode appeared online a little early.
In an unlisted video posted this morning, YouTuber Jimmy “Chaos” uploaded his thoughts on the mode after taking it for a test-drive at an Infinity Ward preview event. The video (which has now been removed) confirmed many of the details already leaked, such as the Warzone name and that it’s free-to-play, along with a few extra tidbits about the map and gameplay. The video has since been re-uploaded on other YouTube channels, but if you want to avoid all the rambling you can just read the key details below.
Watch on YouTube
As Chaos repeated throughout the video, the battle royale will be free-to-play and therefore available to download even if you don’t have Modern Warfare. Although, as Chaos added, the free download means you won’t have access to your Modern Warfare skins, suggesting progress rolls over for those who’ve bought Modern Warfare (who’ll be able to access it via the “classified” mode currently in the in-game menu, I assume). It’s also going to be cross-platform, although Chaos didn’t elaborate on whether matchmaking would be input-based to prevent keyboard and mouse players going on a rampage.