What’s new in Warzone Season 1: Rebirth Island, new Gulags, modes, more

Warzone Season One is here, and it’s brought with it a brand-new Black Ops Cold War battle royale map Rebirth Island, some hefty planned Gulag changes, a new ‘Resurgence’ game mode, and plenty more.

Revenge, revolt, and revelations ⁠— those are the themes at play in the first Warzone season helmed by Treyarch in Black Ops Cold War. While the multiplayer side of the game will get a host of new maps ⁠— eight in total ⁠— and new guns, the battle royale is taking a sharp turn to a familiar island; that’s right, Warzone has finally landed a second, slightly smaller map.

The season is based around Stitch’s plot for revenge against Adler. The CIA operative has been lured back to Rebirth Island, as his nemesis’ plans play out.

On top of the new map, Warzone has also been handed all the guns added to Black Ops Cold War, as well as a new mode, three operators, and a Gulag overhaul ⁠— here’s everything we know about Warzone Season 1, which is live now, so far.

New Warzone map: Rebirth Island

The biggest new addition to Warzone in the first season of Black Ops Cold War is an entirely new battle royale map, “Rebirth Island,” the second for the series. The map is described as an “illicit Soviet base, shut down by the CIA in 1968.”

The facility was then restored by Vikhor Kuzmin ⁠— who is all the Season 1 operator ⁠— in 1984, in an attempt to continue testing the Nova 6 gas. Treyarch has promised “intense, close-quarter action,” in a similar style to Warzone’s mini-BR mode from earlier this year. Rebirth Island will likely have Trios and Quads playlists.

• Read more: Black Ops Cold War Season 1 gameplay revealed

To celebrate the release of Warzone’s second map, Black Ops Cold War also added a number of challenges for first-time players. These include Calling Cards, Charms, Emblems, Stickers, a “Noxious” LMG blueprint, and more “secrets” too.

Season 1 Gulag changes: Verdansk & Rebirth Island

Warzone won’t just be seeing changes on the battlefield; the second-chance Gulag system will also be getting tweaked heading into Season 1. The biggest change is the addition of a new area ⁠— a Nuketown replica ⁠— to earn your freedom.

The design is described as a “makeshift replica of the original Nuketown map layout,” with parked buses, backyard barricades, trucks, and homes. The last Operator standing ⁠— or the one that grabs the flag ⁠— gets a second chance in Verdansk.

• Read more: Everything new coming in Black Ops Cold War Season 1

Season 1 has also added a totally new Gulag area, based on Rebirth Island. The second arena will be “deep below the surface” of the map, in a prison block. This area was where poor prisons were experimented on during the height of the Cold War.

Prisoners start in one of two hallways, before being sent into the middle to fight for a second chance. There are metal detectors scattered around too.

New Warzone game mode: Resurgence

“Resurgence” is a new game mode added to Warzone. Hosted only on Rebirth Island, the playlist focuses on “respawning as a key to victory.” Squads will gear up as normal, hunt each other down, and “seek revenge” on the island.

The rules are simple, listed here:

• The Gulag is closed.
• After taking out an enemy, you’ll gain “extreme clarity” on where the rest of their allies are, and be able to see where they’re located on the map.
• Once the “Rebirth Countdown” reaches zero, all living squads will have their dead teammates brought back into the Warzone fight.

Those who have ever played the Alcatraz map in Blackout – CoD’s first battle royale released in 2018 – will realize that this is a very similar mode, without any of the Zombies, of course.

Three new Warzone operators

Warzone’s first season in Black Ops Cold War adds three new operators, including the villainous Vikhor “Stitch” Kuzmin, who has a grudge with story hero Russell Adler.

Stitch is the only operator who will be available at launch on December 16. The other two operators will be added as the Season 1 story progresses into 2021.

• Stitch ⁠— available from December 16
• Song (NATO) ⁠— to be released mid-season.
• Vargas (Warsaw Pact) ⁠— to be released mid-season.

Treyarch also confirmed, from this point on, all Black Ops Cold War ops will be added to Warzone “once any necessary unlock challenges are completed.”

Warzone Season 1 vehicle: Attack Helicopter

Finally, Warzone players are now able to bring death from above on Verdansk and Rebirth Island, with the Attack Helicopter. This “airborne menace” is similar to the usual helicopter, but with a belt-fed minigun added on both sides.

https://twitter.com/DexertoIntel/status/1337208812172939265

So there you have it ⁠— everything Treyarch has added in Season 1. 

More interested in the multiplayer side of things? Don’t worry, we’ve broken down everything being added on that side too. And finally, get caught up with Warzone’s story in a brand new trailer, which debuted during The Game Awards 2020.

The new season is now available as part of the huge Black Ops Cold War update going live on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.