CoD: Warzone’s Rebirth Island Is Getting Major Map Changes–Here’s What We Know
Call of Duty: Warzone’s smaller Spawn Island map has remained largely unchanged since it was added to the first season of Black Ops Cold War content in December 2020, but Activision has repeatedly hinted at future changes to the map. Here’s what we know so far and some speculation on what the changes could mean for the future of Warzone’s storytelling.
Spawn island teases
Earlier with official announcement of the content of season 2, Activision vaguely mentioned map changes and that some reinforcements would be added to Spawn Island. “As the secrets of Caldera are revealed, something is lurking in the shadows of Renaissance Island,” the blog post reads. “Expect significant changes to the prison island during the mid-season update…”
The teaser doesn’t really reveal anything, but the narrative seems to now link Rebirth Island to Caldera while continuing to focus on the Nebula V gas that was introduced for the Season 2 launch. Caldera has added underground bunkers and a Chemical Factory that produces Nebula V gas, and it now appears that Renaissance Island is also going to add gas-related elements, as an Activision blog teaser included a photo of the building’s interior with large cylinders containing what looks very similar to Nebula V gas. There is no way to tell if this will be a brand new building on Respawn Island, or if an existing building on the island will undergo changes.
Warzone Iron
In addition, the Warzone Iron Trials mode was added to Spawn Island on March 3rd. Activision’s announcement of the Rebirth Iron Trials noted that it would be the last mode for the current Rebirth Island. And stated that it should be viewed as encore for this Cold War version of the map. Activision made another interesting hint in a blog post, saying “While this isn’t the end for Spawn Island, you might be back before a familiar enemy brings the biggest updates to this map since its release…”
A familiar enemy of Warzone
Activision teasing story elements is hoping we’ll get a cinematic trailer like we’ve done in the past, but it’s unclear who the familiar enemy might be. If this really closes the Black Ops Cold War era for the island, perhaps the character will be Stitch. Stitch was an antagonist in Treyarch’s Cold War narrative, but was supposed to be killed by Alder in the final cutscene of season 6. However, he may not have died. The cutscene turns black only at the end with the sound of a gunshot. And just like in the movies, if you haven’t seen the bad guy die, they probably didn’t go to waste in the end.
The cutscene also gave us Stitch’s vaguely villainous speech in which he tells Alder that his plan to broadcast The Number is complete and that he has changed the world, but the consequences of his plan are unknown to us. Perhaps the upcoming narrative will answer these questions left over from the Cold War before sending us back to what is likely the avant-garde version of the Nebula V gas-powered revival island.
Spawn Island
It’s also possible that the threat looming over Spawn Island has nothing to do with the Black Ops Cold War. Vanguard Captain Butcher is alive in the 80s. Telling the stories of World War II and Caldera to Mason, Woods and Hudson from Black Ops Cold War. This updated map event may provide an opportunity to integrate more characters from the Modern Warfare series into the timeline. I don’t understand how Modern Warfare characters can integrate and still take us to a World War II era map. But for now, anything is possible in Call of Duty.
The 2019 sequel to Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare has already been announced. So chances are that Activision is planning to use Warzone to introduce. Some new plot from the series in preparation for Modern Warfare 2’s release later this year. Thus, the question remains about which Modern Warfare adversary could potentially arrive on Renaissance Island.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s campaign narrative continued to unfold after launch in Spec Ops mode and inside Warzone. Where Captain Price assembles the iconic Task Force 141 to fight a new threat in Verdansk.
The final cutscene of Modern Warfare in Warzone ends with Captain Price killing Zakhaev. Who was preparing to detonate a nuclear bomb near Verdansk, but Al-Assad’s fate and whereabouts are unknown. This makes Al-Assad an enemy that can easily appear in a war zone.
Campaign details for the Modern Warfare 2 sequel have not been officially revealed. Although it is rumored to focus on the Colombian drug cartels. It’s unclear how this rumored thread will tie into the previous story. But it would be nice to have a storytelling sequel built on post-launch Modern Warfare content.
When to expect change
All speculation aside, we probably won’t know who will show up or what Renaissance Island will actually look like until much closer to the change. This visual overhaul is scheduled to take place sometime as part of Season 2’s Mid-Season Update. Which should happen sometime towards the end of March.
The second season roadmap for Warzone also announced something called Enhanced Revival. Which could be the name of a new map variant. Some sort of special event, or limited-time mode coming later in the season. Based on the image of Rebirth Island used in the roadmap for Rebirth Reinforced. The island shouldn’t change much, but the thematic change could be a nice update to the map.
Warzone recently unveiled a new Easter egg on Caldera that teases that a battleship may be coming to Warzone’s main map. So, whether players prefer Caldera or Spawn Island. It seems like there are some exciting updates on the horizon for the Call of Duty battle royale.
