Call of Duty: Warzone
Released 10 March 2020 Developer Infinity Ward, Raven Software Publisher Activision
Warzone is a free first-person shooter where squads drop onto a large map, loot weapons and fight until one team is left, with a respawn-based Resurgence mode and a looting-only Black Ops Royale mode alongside the main battle royale. It runs on the same weapons and Operators as the paid Call of Duty games and is aimed at teenagers and adults.
Money health
CautionBuilt to push spending
Addictive design
Moderate3 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in
Average price
Freefree to download
Spending ceiling
No ceilingRepeat purchases, no limit
Australian rating
Strong violence
How it makes money
Caution: built to push spending
Warzone is free to play. It makes its money from COD Points, a virtual currency sold in packs from 200 points (A$3.20) up to 13,000 points (A$159.95), spent on the seasonal Battle Pass and on store bundles of Operator skins and weapon blueprints. The Battle Pass costs 1,100 points (about A$16) and pays back up to 1,100 points as you play. BlackCell, a premium version of the pass, is A$47.95 for the current season. Bundles in the store start around 2,400 points (about A$32). The points are shared with the paid Call of Duty games, and a new season starts every couple of months.
How you pay
- Battle pass
The Season 06 Battle Pass is 1,100 COD Points for 100 tiers and returns up to 1,100 points as you play. A bundle with 20 tier skips is 2,400 points, and BlackCell (A$47.95 on Xbox) adds an exclusive Operator, 1,100 points, 20 tier skips and extra blueprints.
- Free-to-play
Free to download on PC, PlayStation and Xbox; no paid Call of Duty game is needed, and on Xbox no Game Pass Core subscription is needed either. It earns money from COD Points purchases.
Techniques it uses to keep you paying or playing
- FOMO timers
Each season's pass shows a days-left countdown and the store says Activision can update or remove content at any time. Themed Tracer Pack, Mastercraft and Reactive bundles of 2,400 to 2,800 points rotate through.
- Never-ending
Warzone has no ending; it receives a new season of maps, modes and weapons every couple of months, and its seasons follow the newest paid Call of Duty release.
- Game currency
COD Points come in packs of 200 (A$3.20), 500 (A$7.95), 1,100 (A$15.95), 2,400 (A$31.95), 5,000 (A$63.95), 9,500 (A$119.95) and 13,000 (A$159.95); store items and passes are priced in points.
- Always online
Warzone is online-only. Xbox One support ends at the end of Black Ops 7 Season 06, and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are being dropped as the game moves to Modern Warfare 4 seasons.
minor part of the game - Starter pack
Cheap Starter Packs are sold, such as Arachnid's Mark and Command Force at A$7.95 each on the Xbox store.
minor part of the game
Fairer alternatives
Similar games with a healthier money model
What it costs
Free to start, then A$3.20–A$159.95 a purchase
| What | Where | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 COD Points (smallest pack) | Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$3.20 | Oct 2026 |
| 1,100 COD Points (the price of the Battle Pass) | Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$15.95 | Oct 2026 |
| 13,000 COD Points (largest pack) | Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$159.95 | Oct 2026 |
| Season 06 Battle Pass (1,100 COD Points) Priced in COD Points; A$15.95 is the price of a 1,100-point pack. |
Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$15.95 | Oct 2026 |
| Black Ops 7 / Warzone BlackCell (Season 06) Premium pass; US price is US$29.99. |
Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$47.95 | Oct 2026 |
Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.
Reviews from across the web
What the critics said
-
8/ 10
IGN
Found the relaunch refreshed by proximity chat and the new DMZ extraction mode.
-
8/ 10
GameSpot
Liked the fresh additions to the battle royale but thought some reworked features of the original were a step back.
-
80/ 100
PC Gamer
Admired the combat and the map design, but said a rocky launch with technical issues held it back.
Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.
Age ratings & content
What's in it
Content labels
- Violencestrong
Fighting, weapons, injury and death, from cartoon bonks to realistic killing.
From ACB, ESRB and PEGI descriptors - Blood & gorestrong
Blood, injuries and body damage on screen.
From ESRB descriptors - Languagestrong
Swearing and crude language, from the odd 'damn' to frequent strong profanity.
From ESRB and PEGI descriptors - Drugs & alcoholmoderate
References to, or use of, illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
From ESRB descriptors - Sex & nuditymild
Sexual references, innuendo, sexualised imagery, nudity and sex scenes.
From ESRB descriptors
Classification
Age ratings judge content (violence, language, gambling themes), summed up in the content labels above. They say little about how hard a game pushes spending — that's what the money badges are for. About rating boards
Safety & parental controls
Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?
- Text and voice chat
- Players can interact with strangers
- No user-made content
- Needs an online account
- Terms of service minimum age: 13
An Activision account is needed (a mobile phone number linked to it may be required). Proximity voice chat lets players hear strangers nearby in matches, and there is party voice and text chat; players can mute, block and report in game. Activision's terms say its products are for people aged 13 or older, that 13 to 17 year olds should read the terms with a parent, and that parents are liable for purchases. Spending and chat limits are best set on the console or PC account.
Who makes it
The companies behind it, and their track record
No track-record badges yet.
Latest on the record
- Labour
Staff were among those laid off in Microsoft's gaming job cuts
Kotaku - Labour
38 developers sued Activision over unpaid bonuses
GamesIndustry.biz - Court case
Activision fired studio heads, who sued over unpaid royalties
GamesIndustry.biz
- Labour dispute
Labour dispute
QA staff struck for nearly two months in 2021-22; in 2022 the US labour board found merit in a charge that Activision withheld raises from them in retaliation for unionising.
Latest on the record
- Labour
Union ratified first contract after three years
GamesIndustry.biz - Regulator action
US labour board found merit in retaliation charge
GamesIndustry.biz - Labour
QA testers voted to form the first union at a major US games publisher
GamesIndustry.biz
- Workplace misconduct
Workplace misconduct findings
Activision Blizzard settled a US EEOC harassment and discrimination suit with an $18 million fund (2021) and a California pay and promotion discrimination suit for about $54 million (2023); neither was adjudicated. - Crunch
Crunch reports
Bloomberg reported in November 2023 that Modern Warfare 3 developers worked nights and weekends on a 16-month schedule; the studio head disputed this. - Large layoffs
Large layoffs
February 2019: Activision Blizzard announced about 775 job cuts, about 8% of its workforce.
Latest on the record
- Labour
QA union voted to authorise a strike
Kotaku - Court case
Brazilian first-instance court ordered R$18 million in loot-box damages, subject to appeal
Brazil Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Technical Note 55/2026) - Investigation
EU consumer regulators investigated Call of Duty Mobile and Diablo Immortal spending design
Italian Competition Authority (AGCM)
A company's history doesn't change this game's money verdict, which rates only how the game itself makes money. About company track records
Platforms & release
Where you can play it
| Platform | Released | Store |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch 2 Announced for 6 November 2026; not yet released as of 22 October 2026 |
— | — |
| PlayStation 5 | 16 November 2022 | — |
| PlayStation 4 Support is ending as the game moves to Modern Warfare 4 seasons |
10 March 2020 | — |
| Xbox Series X|S | 16 November 2022 | Store page |
| Xbox One No longer playable after Black Ops 7 Season 06 |
10 March 2020 | — |
| Windows PC Free download via Steam or Battle.net; the Steam entry is the shared Call of Duty launcher |
16 November 2022 | Store page |
| Cloud streaming Xbox Cloud Gaming |
25 October 2024 | — |
Further reading
- Official website
- Call of Duty: Warzone (official site, Australia)
- Current Battle Pass and BlackCell prices
- Call of Duty Code of Conduct and in-game reporting
- Wikipedia: Call of Duty: Warzone (2022 video game)
- Wikipedia
Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: www.callofduty.com, www.callofduty.com, www.callofduty.com, www.callofduty.com, www.xbox.com, www.xbox.com, store.steampowered.com, www.activision.com, en.wikipedia.org, www.metacritic.com, opencritic.com. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.