Before Call of Duty: Warzone established itself as one of the most popular battle royale games ever when it arrived in 2020, Call of Duty's first brush with battle royale came in 2018's Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 with its Blackout mode. Today, Activision revealed that it is bringing Blackout back - sort of. Black Ops Royale is a new, "Blackout-inspired" battle royale mode that is getting added to Call of Duty Warzone, and just like Warzone, it will be free for players to jump in.
The new mode arrives next week on March 13, 2026, and brings back elements of Blackout with the modern Call of Duty sheen. "This is an original Blackout-inspired battle royale with no loadouts, no Gulag, and no Buy Stations," a blog post on the official Call of Duty website reads.
"Wingsuit in, scavenge to survive, upgrade weapons through rarity, master Cradle Breaches, and outlast 24 rival squads on Avalon's massive map."
Once you've dropped in, the weapons you'll scavenge will be pre-built archetypes of the weapons in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's arsenal, with each gun getting an upgrade path based on attachment kits that are categorized by rarity.
Just like in Blackout, you'll be able to carry two pieces of equipment, meaning you can mix a Grapple Hook, Sensor Dart, and Trauma Kit together however you like, and the original perk system from Blackout makes a comeback with a slight twist, which is that there are no fixed slots, just five swappable and consumable slots.
It's more than a little odd to see a new mode inspired by a game that does not reflect one of the series' higher points, but perhaps what the series needs is Activision and its suite of developers to do anything they can to shake things up.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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