Call of Duty publisher Activision has confirmed dates and timings for the launch of Warzone Season 3. The hotly-anticipated new Call of Duty season will add new Battle Pass rewards, as well as new maps and game modes across Black Ops 6, Zombies and Warzone. Perhaps most exciting of all, however, is the re-introduction of the Verdansk map in Call of Duty Warzone.
In a post on the Call of Duty website, Activision announced that Warzone Season 3 will have an April 2 release date and a 9am PT release time. That’s a 5pm BST release time for fans living in the UK.
Activision explains more: “Engage in epic, globe-trotting battles as Season 03 brings five Multiplayer maps and one 6v6 variant, six new weapons, the Shattered Veil Zombies map, and more, including the long-awaited return of Verdansk in Call of Duty: Warzone. Season 03 arrives April 2 at 9AM PT.“
Sadly, however, the Verdansk map won’t actually be available at the launch of Season 3, although fans won’t have to wait too much longer to get stuck in.
Activision has announced plans to launch the Verdansk map at 5pm BST UK time on April 3. That’s 24-hours after the launch of Season 3.
The news was shared on a separate blog post outlining some of the new and returning features coming to Verdansk.
“Rebuilt from the ground up, get all the details about Call of Duty: Warzone’s original Big Map, including the returning features and original gameplay modes, plus details on the huge launch Event with 20 free rewards,” Activision explains.
“Equip your Kilo 141, CR-56 AMAX and HDR, and drop in on April 3 at 9AM, one day after the launch of Black Ops 6 Season 03 on April 2!”
The launch plans also include a special Return to Verdansk event, which will run from April 3 to April 15.
As part of the event, players are tasked with finding hidden safes scattered across each of the map’s 12 zones. These safes are said to contain exclusive rewards, including the event-exclusive TrailBlazer Operator Skin.
According to Activision, the release of Verdansk will coincide with changes to the gameplay. Fans can expect a “back to basics” approach to certain gameplay elements, including the game’s omnimovement system.
Omnimovement will be fine-tuned to “better align with the unique demands of Call of Duty: Warzone’s map and engagement styles”.
The Warzone developer will scale back some of the increases in movement speed and will also adjust slide friction to make the experience feel more like the early days of Warzone.
Elsewhere, Verdansk will support 150 players at launch and will feature the return of the original announcer and cinematics. You’ll also be able to fire your weapon when dropping into the map.
Additional features will be introduced during the mid-season update later this year.
Needless to say, the launch of a new season means the release of a new Battle Pass, complete with dozens of rewards.
As you can see from the image above, the Season 3 Battle Pass contains new Operator skins, including Mace and Hudson.
The Battle Pass contains over 110 rewards in total, including two new weapons, the Monolithic Suppressor Attachment and plenty more.
There’s also a separate BlackCell Battle Pass containing Mace and Hudson variants, as well as Operator R0-Z3, a Martial Arts emote, COD Points and XP boosts.