Warzone Will Get a 'Bold New Experience' Inspired by OG Call of Duty Battle Royale Mode, Blackout, in Spring 2026

Call of Duty: Warzone has announced a "bold new experience" arriving in the battle royale next spring, drawing inspiration from Black Ops 4’s original mode, Blackout.

In a message posted to X/Twitter, the Call of Duty team shared an image of players descending from the sky alongside the text: "Approaching the drop zone… Call of Duty: Warzone is bringing a bold new experience in Spring of 2026 inspired by the original Blackout, set on Avalon."

The Blackout battle royale mode launched alongside Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. In our 2018 review, we noted that Call of Duty’s "responsive and forgiving gunplay, nimble movement, and creative but practical equipment fit beautifully into the trendy last man standing format." Blackout was eventually replaced by Call of Duty’s dedicated battle royale, Call of Duty: Warzone, which received a major overhaul in 2022—yet many fans still hold the original mode dear, as evidenced by the thousands of replies and likes on the Twitter teaser.

Approaching the drop zone...

Call of Duty: Warzone is bringing a bold new experience in Spring of 2026 inspired by the original Blackout, set on Avalon. #BlackOps7 | #CODNext pic.twitter.com/TenwQesj5W

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) September 30, 2025

Though no formal details have been provided to clarify what Activision means by "experience," the publisher teased: "And here’s just a glimpse on what’s dropping into Call of Duty: Warzone:

Bold New Blackout Experience on Avalon
Rebirth Island Refresh
Verdansk Updates
Ranked Play
And MORE!

Stay tuned for more information as we have more FREE content updates all next year!"

As for the next mainline Call of Duty title? Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is set to launch officially on November 14, 2025, for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. Those eager to try before release can access Treyarch’s updated gameplay via an open beta from October 5–8. Players who pre-order can enter even earlier through an early access beta running October 2–5 — here's when the closed and open betas goes live in your timezone.

Don’t forget, Activision recently warned PC players that they will not be able to play during the beta and at launch if they do not enable TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Like its competitor Battlefield 6, Black Ops 7 requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot on PC as part of robust anti-cheat measures to prevent modified hardware and unauthorized software.