How will Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 change Warzone?

Black Ops 6 integration with Call of Duty: Warzone will add omnimovement and make big changes to inventory and other gameplay mechanics.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Call of Duty: Warzone is about to undergo some of its biggest changes since its launch with Modern Warfare 2 in 2022. On November 14,Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 andCall of Duty: Warzonewill integrate, marking the first time Warzone 2.0 has been merged with a Black Ops title. New movement and other features introduced with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 are also being integrated into Warzone, along with a brand-new Resurgence map.

Let’s take an in-depth look at the changes you can expect for Call of Duty: Warzone when BO6 Season 1 kicks off.

Black Ops 6 x Warzone Season 1 release date and time

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6Season 1 kicks off on Thursday, November 14. All platforms will go live starting at 9 AM PT/12 PM ET. The launch of Season 1 will usher in the Black Ops 6 and Warzone integration.

Do I need to reinstall Warzone for Black Ops 6?

Call of Duty’s launcher recently decoupled Black Ops 6 and Warzone. If I have Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone installed, will I need to reinstall Black Ops 6’s version of Warzone?

If you already have Call of Duty: Warzone installed, the integration with Black Ops 6 will occur automatically following an update that becomes available on November 14. If you do not yet have Warzone installed, you will need to install the free-to-play Battle Royale title before you can play Warzone with Black Ops 6 integration.

Is the Black Ops 6 update for Call of Duty: Warzone free?

Yes, the seasonal updates for Call of Duty: Warzone are free. The shared Battle Passes have both free and premium content, and there are Operator Bundles and weapon blueprints that can be purchased with COD points. Some rewards, COD points, and operator bundles can be unlocked for free, as well. The overall update, including new maps and introduction of omnimovement, are all universally free.

Black Ops 6 x Warzone—Omnimovement, inventory, and loadouts

Black Ops 6 integration will bring about some big changes to Call of Duty: Warzone, including the addition of the brand-new movement system,Omnimovement. Goodbye MW3 slide canceling! Omnimovement will now allow players in Warzone to move the same as they can in Black Ops 6—sliding and diving in every direction and supine prone will all be integrated. The Call of Duty team has not confirmed whetherBlack Ops 6’s “Intelligent Movement” and accessibility featureswill also be integrated, though it is likely those features will make the shift to Warzone due to the shared launcher.

Weapons and loadouts

Loadouts, too, will undergo Black Ops 6 integration in Warzone. Most notably, the loadout menu will receive a GUI update to match Black Ops 6’s more streamlined armory and Gunsmith layout. All players, regardless of platform, will have access to 10 custom loadout slots—another change for Black Ops 6 as previous titles gave extra loadout slots to PlayStation players as part of their timed marketing agreements.

Players will be able to equip the following loadout slots in Warzone starting November 14:

Quick Inventory

Get the Windows Central Newsletter

All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.

During the Call of Duty NEXT showcase in August, Treyarch and Raven Software unveiled the updated inventory system coming to Warzone with Black Ops 6 integration. The new quick inventory is a streamlined system that ditches the current backpack inventory and more closely resembles the original Warzone inventory. The inventory is divvied up as so:

For those concerned that the new quick inventory is going to limit their carrying capacity, know that lootable satchels are also returning to the game. Similar to current armor vests that are available to pick up, Satchels can be found as ground loot and in crates and add additional armor slots or more ammo carrying capacity to your inventory.

Weapons

Primary weapons include Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles (which are only available from MW2 and MW3 armories. BO6 does not have battle rifles), SMGs, Shotguns, LMGs, Marksman Rifles, Sniper Rifles, and Melee (MW2 only.) Secondary weapons cover pistols and launchers from all three games. Melee Weapons must be accessed by pressing and holding the dedicated melee button, which is the right thumb stick on a controller. The armory breakdown for all 136 primary weapons, 35 secondary weapons, and 15 melee weapons in Warzone following Black Ops 6 integration is below:

Equipment

No loadout is complete without lethals, tacticals, field upgrades, and kill streaks. Players can find ten tacticals, 11 lethals, 17 field upgrades, and 12 kill streaks in Warzone with the start of Season 1. Some will be available immediately, while others will require the player to progress their player level to gain access to them for their loadout. That said, any equipment found in ground and crate loot is fair game regardless of your level. Here is the equipment and unlock breakdown:

Perks and wildcards

Call of Duty: Warzone will fall back to the classic “Pick-3” perks system, eschewing the more convoluted gear system that was introduced with Modern Warfare 3’s integration. Players will pick one perk from each color slot. Surprisingly enough, the combat specialties present in Black Ops 6 will not integrate into Warzone. So for those of you who arefrustrated with the Recon specialty, good news! You won’t have to deal with it here.

Like with other equipment, players will need to hit a certain level to unlock certain perks before they can be equipped in a loadout. Players can pick three perks for their loadout, and then find additional perks in crates and ground loot that can be added on top of the loadout perks.

In addition to Shrouded, Irradiated, and Specialist being in-game loot, four other “pick-3” perks will be added to the pool of lootable perks. The perks chosen as lootables will rotate each season. Three additional unannounced lootable perks are also expected, but have not yet been revealed.

Four wildcards will be available during Warzone x BO6 Season 1. Players will only have the option to add one Wildcard to their loadout, and it must be equipped prior to the match starting, like with perks. However, more lootable Wildcards may be in Warzone’s future. Here are the four available for Season 1:

BO6 x Warzone—Maps

Urzikstan (Battle Royale, Plunder)

It’s not a fresh integration without big changes to the maps of Warzone. In the past, we’ve seen major in-game events for Warzone that dramatically change the existing Battle Royale maps in some way. Surprisingly, that didn’t happen for Black Ops 6. However, that doesn’t mean that Urzikstan, the current Battle Royale map, isn’t going to see some changes. In a surprise twist, it’s being completely reverted to its original MW3 launch state. This removes content and changes made during Modern Warfare 3’s post-launch seasonal updates, including the destruction of the Popov Power Plant and access to bunkers. The Atlas Superstore at Al-Sada Village will also be removed, as it was constructed post-launch.

Urzikstan is where your big battles take place, with 120 players all vying to be #1. There’s not a lot of gameplay change here, but Urzikstan will now include support for Omnimovement and Black Ops 6 weapons and loadout changes, which will have some impact on the game as we know it. Plunder mode, where players scramble to collect the highest amount of in-game cash they can before the timer runs out, will also be playable on Urzikstan. However, Plunder players will now no longer be able to pick up and sell valuables for easy dubs. If you want that cold, hard cash you’re going to have to get it the hard way.

Rebirth Island (Resurgence)

Rebirth Island will be sticking around for fans of Resurgence mode with no real major changes on Season 1’s launch. The Solos, Duos, and Quads playlists will have 44 players on the map per match while Trios will have 45. Players who are eliminated can redeploy provided someone on their squad remains alive for the duration of their countdown timer. Taking out enemy combatants, opening crates, and completing contracts can all help survivors lessen the wait for a teammate’s redeploy.

Area 99 (Resurgence)

If you think 6v6 on Nuketown isn’t chaotic enough, you should try 44-45 players on Nuketown’s bigger brother, Area 99. Set in the Nevada desert, Area 99 is a government nuclear testing site based at the Echo Ridge Weapons Station. This top-secret locale is just a few miles from the Nuketown we know and love (or love to hate) and was eventually shut down and scrubbed from existence by the government following a nuclear reactor leak.

Area 99’s points of interest range from a Mannequin Assembly factory to an underground bunker back to a bullseye-like reactor that is sure to be a popular drop site.

Set in the Nevada desert just a few miles away from Nuketown is the Echo Ridge Weapons Station. The location is the site was scrubbed by the government after the nuclear reactor at the center of it all failed, leaving behind an eerie 50s era retro-futuristic playground for squads to battle over.

The dilapidated, bullseye-like reactor at the heart of Area 99 was once its pride and the source of power for entire weapons station. A failure in 1962 led to the place being abandoned. The main reactor tower has been cracked and leaking ever since, so I’m sure this is a perfectly safe place for squads to land. Players will find action both inside and out, with ascenders and gantry steps leading to the core chamber. Curved corridors lead to Turbines room and Hydro pumps. Outside, a radial array of buildings includes Research Station 02 and 01, general storage, and a gas station.

Once upon a time the Echo Ridge Weapons Station was a bustling place to live and work. The location was fitted with retro-futuristic pod housing for the community of workers. This quartet of brightly colored housing units are still standing, though they’re only a fraction of their former glory. Each of the four pods features a central pillar and elevator with living, kitchen, and bed chambers branching off from it. There’s some excellent sniping opportunities from the mostly covered, albeit decrepit, dwellings, but don’t become too comfy in your surrounds lest you and your squad be surprised by an enemy making their way up the stairs or elevator shaft.

You ever wonder where all those yellow and green houses from Nuketown are manufactured at? This factory. This one right here. You’ll recognize the walls, interiors, and even the classic Nuketown signage are all in various states of construction here at the Warehouse. This two part factory is about as Black Ops-y as you can get, and it’s sure to be a popular destination for many squads.

The second half of the factory is where all the manufacturing used to happen. Players will find rooftop conference rooms, lockers packed full of loot, worker kitchens and house-building bays. Dripping in Nuketown history, the manufacturing side of the factory is also ripe with parkour opportunities and some unique combat flash points where movement will really make or break your engagements.

There’s something surprisingly familiar about the Test Site, but this location was previously used as a testing facility, with some eerily familiar props and decor. A surface level test viewing station is connected to a war room that sits just below the Nevada desert’s scorching sand dunes.

The facility can’t just manufacture Nuketown elements, it has to ship them out, too. Unfortunately the remains of the shipping operation were left behind when the reactor failure caused everybody to flee the area. So players will now find a boneyard of derelict homes, half-buried in the sands of time, and rusted out transports.

High above the Loading bay, where big rigs and other equipment sit unused, is a giant crane hoisting an entire house into the air. The house provides a protected point of view for most of Area 99, but it’s likely to be a position many are willing to fight to the bitter end for.

The mannequin assembly plant is to the north of Area 99. Its a creepy, unsettling area where mannequins have been overproduced unchecked for years. Mannequin parts are strewn about everywhere, and the plant is a giant maze of construction for the uncanny.

A large armory, loading docks for combustibles, and a war room with unnerving plans can all be uncovered in the bunker. There’s two entrances to get down here, the standard front door or metal trapdoors can get you to the underground command center where scientists and government officials planned their operations.

A set of cooling towers can also be found situated between the reactor and the mannequin assembly plant. The towers offer a higher vantage point for some areas of the map, but they have taken damage from the sun and sand of years in the desert. Don’t rely too heavily on some of those walls to provide ample coverage.

BO6 x Warzone—New cinematics, emotes, and sprays

During the marketing campaign for Black Ops 6, we saw The Replacer take over for Graves in the Warzone infil cinematic. While we’ll never see that cinematic in game, we will get brand-new ones for Warzone when Season 1 drops. The new cinematics can be spotted when you enter the gulag on Urzikstan, and new infil and exfil cinematics on Area 99. The final exfil cinematic will be replaced with Black Ops 6’s winner’s circle, giving players a chance to emote over their victory while information about their gameplay is showcased similar to how it is now.

Fans of the original Warzone may remember that players could spray paint various images and decals around the map. The feature disappeared with the launch of Warzone 2.0, but now after 2 years we’re getting emotes and sprays back in the free-to-play battle royale. Not only can we emote in-match and in the winners circle, we can also unlock new emotes and sprays via the battle pass or with operator bundles. All 157 operators available in Warzone will have the option to emote. Even the ones from MW2 and MW3.

BO6 x Warzone Season 1—Classic prestige and player progression

Classic prestige has returned to Call of Duty, with Prestige Master kicking in to add an extra 1000 levels to attain after the classic grind is through. Black Ops 6 integration into Warzone will synchronize player progression across the two games. Starting on November 14, all players' progression in Warzone will reset to match their Black Ops 6 prestige progression. Weapons, equipment, perks, and rewards will be tied to player levels. If you findBlack Ops 6’s classic prestige and progression confusing, we have a helpful guideto explain prestiging and permanent unlocks.

Do I need Black Ops 6 to prestige in Warzone?

No! Call of Duty’s leveling and progression system will merge with the start of Season 1, but you do not need to own Black Ops 6 to level up in Warzone. Some prestige rewards are Black Ops 6 exclusive unlocks, but the XP earned will continue to work you through progression to Prestige Master regardless of whether you own BO6.

🎃The best early Black Friday deals🦃

Cole is the resident Call of Duty know-it-all and indie game enthusiast for Windows Central. She’s a lifelong artist with two decades of experience in digital painting, and she will happily talk your ear off about budget pen displays.