Warzone, the forthcoming battle royale addition to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, is practically the company's worst-kept secret. It's been long-rumored, dating all the way back prior to MW's launch, and season 2 has even seen a bevy of new glitches, leaks, and more associated with the new mode. In fact, Modern Warfare subpoenaed Reddit to find the biggest Warzone leakers, which only proves the mode even more.
One thing Warzone will indubitably do as it enters the battle royale market is try to leave its own bootprint. Given that the battle royale genre has a certain formula, games within that genre often provide unique elements in order to stand out from its competition. Apex Legends, for example, combines the battle royale genre with hero shooter elements, Fortnite has its building element, and Blackout was among the first to introduce PvE enemies like zombies, as well as a splitscreen co-op mode (which Fortnite later copied, like it recently did Apex).
Rumors point toward Warzone doing just this, as there's reportedly an actual in-game economy of purchasing stuff, killstreakers, a huge player count of 200, and more. That doesn't mean it shouldn't build on its predecessors, though, and in fact, there's one element first introduced in Black Ops 4 that Modern Warfare should add: split-screen co-op.
Modern Warfare and Black Ops 4
Before moving forward, it's worth mentioning that Fortnite would eventually add this to its own battle royale mode, so it's nothing something exactly unique to Blackout. It was the first to include it, though, and it added a nice, unique element to the game at the time. There's also little reason to try split-screen co-op if pursuing a ranked mode, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be in the game, as it seems to be a natural evolution of Modern Warfare's multiplayer.
Given the reported Warzone map size is huge compared to Blackout and will reportedly host 200 players, it seems safe to say things will be able to get hectic, quickly. It's uncertain what the squad count will be like, whether that's 50 squads of 4 for a basic game mode or if it hosts LTMs of 100v100, but one constant demand in battle royale games is duos. There's little reason to think that won't be the case for Modern Warfare as well, which is where split-screen co-op rules the day.
Split-screen co-op is a dwindling but fan-favorite feature. Still, while it's more for some innocent fun to take that feature online, Warzone is the perfect chance for two friends and Modern Warfare fans to get together, have some laughs, and drop into the map. It adds a fun factor to the game, that cannot be denied, as squads and duos made it incredibly fun in Black Ops 4.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Split-screen Co-op
Of course, the question becomes whether or not Modern Warfare would or could actually use this feature. There's no official confirmation, mentions in rumors, or possible teases, but there is one big arrow pointing toward it being a possiblity. Namely, there's split-screen co-op available in other game modes, and while they may pale in comparison to the reported reach of Warzone, that doesn't rule it out completely.
For now, fans of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will just need to wait and see what its battle royale mode will entail. Fingers crossed that split-screen co-op is among them.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
