How do Warzone 2 circles work? Circle splits explained

Warzone 2 is shaking up the battle royale formula by completely revamping the way the ever-closing circles work, bringing an extra layer of strategy to matches in the sequel. Here’s everything you need to know about circles in Warzone 2.

Warzone 2 isn’t just looking to build on the original, Warzone’s sequel is changing a core feature of the genre.

If you’ve ever played a battle royale like Fortnite or Apex Legends, then the shrinking circles will be a familiar sight, whether it be a poisonous gas cloud or a raging storm.

Circles in Warzone 2 are set to add a whole new dimension to each match by breaking teams up into smaller fights.

Warzone 2 circles explained

Warzone 2 is abandoning the standard structure of a battle royale where one large ring shrinks to push the entire lobby together. Instead, Warzone 2 matches can split into up to three different smaller circles, all separated by the gas cloud. However, some matches will behave as normal with one circle closing.

These splits are completely random, meaning each game can vary differently depending on where you land, how many circles form, and which smaller battleground you and your squad wind up in. As the game progresses, every individual circle will shrink, forcing all the remaining teams to fight for control over their area.

The UI will display how many players are left in your specific circle, as well as the match as a whole. This helps you plan your next moves and decide whether it’s time to focus on looting or whether to keep out of sight.

Finally, towards the end of the match, all of the smaller sections will move and converge into a single circle, bringing every remaining squad into the same area to fight it out for the win.

Warzone 2 features multiple circles for the very first time.

During the Call of Duty Next stream, Infinity Ward devs explained that they wanted to throw in something to the gameplay in Warzone 2 and that the joining of multiple circles could make for an interesting endgame.

“It’s another twist in the gameplay, that we feel is a cool world event that would happen,” said Co-Design Director Joe Cecot.

The developers also revealed, “split circles will inheritably be smaller than a normal circle collapse.” The goal is to emphasize end-game close-range combat.

While we’ve seen a handful of content creators try out Warzone 2 so far, we’ll have to wait until the game launches on November 16 to see exactly how the new circles affect the flow of matches.