Call of Duty: Warzone has crossed into new territory with 100 million downloads since its launch in March 2020.
The free-to-play game debuted as a battle royale mode for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on March 10, 2020, just as lockdown began in the United States. Like many other games, it became immensely popular as a distraction from the brutal reality of the pandemic.
I’ve enjoyed it, and I can understand why so many have played, even with controversies like lots of cheaters and guns that have been periodically nerfed. It’s one of the games that, along with the 300 million downloads of Call of Duty: Mobile, have helped the Call of Duty franchise grow even more.
It’s a compelling game, but it’s not easy to win. One-hundred-fifty players compete in a fight to the finish. You can play solo or join teams of three or four squadmates. But only one team comes out as the winner as a shrinking circle forces everyone together on the battleground.
I have played Warzone on-and-off for the past year. I have just four wins, and I’m very proud of them. This probably a good occasion to brief you on my game record. I have won four times and appeared in the top 10 about 97 times in the 789 matches that I have played. That puts me in the top 15% of players.
https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1384582733830176769
I have 769 kills and 1,758 deaths, for a 0.44 kill/death ratio, putting me in the top 11% of players. I have played for a total of 1 day and 15 hours, and I am in the top 22% in that respect. But curiously, I am ranked at 1,235,483, and, based on 100 million players, that means I am in the top 1.2% of all Warzone players. Yes, you may bow down before me. OK, maybe not. But still, that’s an indication of how much I enjoy this game.
Warzone will get new Season 3 content on April 22. Among the big changes for Warzone is an update to its narrative. Some time ago, a cargo tanker ship ran around in Verdansk near the Zordaya Prison Complex. The ship held zombies, and the undead have spread across parts of the map, resulting in different Corruption Zones. If a player dies within such a zone, they become one of the undead. But the zone has lots of gas masks to prevent you from breathing the fumes that turn you into a zombie.
Warzone matches this week have constant alerts about the zombie containment problem. I like how the narratives of Zombies, Call of Duty: Black Ops — Cold War, and Warzone are all converging into one story.
The new Operation Rapid Sunder starts April 21, with more updates coming at noon Pacific on that day. Warzone’s update will be playable at 9 p.m. Pacific on April 21.
Activision also said the file size for Warzone will be 25.2GB to 25.9GB, depending on what system you play it on. These file sizes are down from previous versions.