How does Warzone work in Black Ops Cold War? Progression, account, more

Theo Salaun
black ops cold war warzone how it works

Along with the global reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Activision has detailed exactly how Warzone accounts will be integrated, including cross-play, cross-play, and cross-generation. 

In what should be popular news for those who have grinded and spent money on cosmetics and weapons in Warzone, Activision has confirmed that everything unlocked in the battle royale will be tied directly to their Activision account and will continue to be available for usage alongside all of the new content Black Ops Cold War brings.

Battle Pass, store, and Armory integration with Warzone

Warzone, the free-to-play complement to Modern Warfare, will persist alongside Black Ops Cold War as Activision’s blog explains that the battle royale “will continue to evolve” and will be “interweaving some of Black Ops Cold War’s themes, weapons, and operators.”

Essentially, it has been confirmed that everything about Warzone, from the developments in the game’s map and lore to the unlocks from its Battle Pass seasons and store, will carry over into Black Ops Cold War.

Once the new game comes out, the Battle Pass seasons will update and all new content will be available for players to access from their Armory in line with everything they’ve already unlocked through Modern Warfare and Warzone. 

Modern Warfare Season 5 Battle Pass
All unlocks from Battle Pass and the store will continue into Black Ops Cold War.

All unlocks, from weapons (including Blueprints) and Operators to equipment and cosmetics, will be accessible in the game’s upcoming iteration. As a note, though, all Modern Warfare and Warzone content will only be available in Warzone, as Black Ops Cold War’s multiplayer and Zombies offerings will be restricted to functional offerings from the new Treyarch title.

Further, Activision has confirmed that the new Battle Pass system will continue to include free tiers and that each season will continue the narrative structure made prominent in Modern Warfare and Warzone. Unlike the Battle Pass’s seasonal cosmetics and items, multiplayer maps and modes will be simultaneously available across all platforms.

This news was rumored in the past, but it’s good to have it officially confirmed via Activision, as this emphasis on cross-platform, cross-integration means that the player base can be as big as ever, while rewarding for the time (and money) spent on Warzone.

Cross-play, cross-progression, cross-generation

Activision has also confirmed that Black Ops Cold War will be the first CoD title ever to feature cross-play against all systems and console generations. That means that whether it’s account progression or simply the ability to play with one another, players will be integrated through thei accounts across PC and both the current and next generations of Xbox and PlayStation.

call of duty black ops war
Fans will be delighted to know that Warzone will continue, as will all of their Battle Pass and store unlocks, in Black Ops Cold War.

Theoretically, this means that an entire multiplayer team could include players from PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, and PS5, which would be unprecedented. 

Given the development of Activision accounts, players will also be able to log into their same account on multiple platforms, allowing all progress unlocked on any platform to be accessed on whatever platform a player logs onto next.

Black Ops Cold War will be releasing on November 13 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It’s been confirmed that the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions will be available as soon as the next-gen consoles are rolled out.

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About The Author

Théo is a former writer at Dexerto based in New York and built on competition. Formerly an editor for Bleacher Report and philosophy student at McGill, he fell in love with Overwatch and Call of Duty — leading him to focus on esports for Dex.