Call of Duty‘s first ever battle royale mode, Blackout, will return in 2026, much to the surprise of fans. Back in 2018, the battle royale genre was starting to take off following the successes of PUBG, Fortnite, and H1Z1. However, a lot of these experiences were relegated to PC and fans were waiting to see a really big AAA studio with lots of experience in the FPS genre take a crack at it. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 opted to sacrifice its campaign in order for a battle royale mode known as Blackout. It was a very arcade-y take on the genre and was well-received, but it was short lived.
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Ultimately, Blackout would be completely replaced by Call of Duty: Warzone a year and a half later. Warzone was a bit more tactical and grounded, but it was also free-to-play, making it an easy sell. Fans have demanded to see Blackout return in Call of Duty, but no one thought it would really happen so long as Warzone was crushing it. However… it’s happening. At COD Next, Activision confirmed that Blackout will return within Warzone in 2026. The battle royale experience will launch in Spring 2026 alongside Avalon, the next big battle royale map for Call of Duty and the setting of Black Ops 7‘s campaign.
What Does Blackout Mean for Warzone?
The team behind Call of Duty’s return to Blackout didn’t share any real specific details, but it will be a mode within Warzone. It won’t replace the core Warzone experience, but instead be an additional offering. It’s possible that this may once again be a more arcade-y battle royale experience with no loadouts. Part of the thrill of Blackout is that you were building your class on the fly as you played, you even had to loot for individual attachments to put on your gun. It’s also likely this will feel less competitive and sweaty, but that may also depend on the kinds of players Blackout attracts this time around.
Blackout also lacked a gulag or respawn system in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, so it seems likely this will be a true one-life mode again. It’ll be interesting to see how different Blackout feels from the core Warzone experience since they are both being built on the same engine and foundation, but hopefully, it pans out. We’ll have to wait until next year to see how it turns out, but it’s exciting to see Blackout returning nearly a decade after its introduction.
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