The differences between Call of Duty: Warzone and Blackout battle royale

Treyarch, developers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, released the series first battle royale title, Blackout, last year. Upon launch, the mode was received relatively well, but there were some glaring issues. These problems didn’t even relate to gameplay either, which is a real shame since Blackout played exceptionally well. 

With Call of Duty: Warzone, however, Infinity Ward has improved upon many of the areas where Blackout lacked, although there are many differences between the two games as well. 

Simplifying your experience

For starters, Warzone is completely free for all players and systems. While there’s a meaty download, if you don’t own Modern Warfare, it’s still better than paying $60 to gain access to the battle royale like what was required with Blackout. 

To go along with this, Warzone is cross-platform capable, meaning you can play with anyone regardless of their system. Blackout, of course, was not cross-play, as the feature only just came to Call of Duty this year. 

Warzone offers more customization

In terms of gameplay, Blackout wasn’t as diverse in the items you could loot. Of course, you have perks, attachments, equipment, etc., but that’s about it. With Warzone, there’s killstreaks, a wider variety of equipment, and Cash, which is used at Buy Stations to purchase even more items. 

There are multiple ways to earn Cash, with the simplest being simply finding it on the ground. However, players can also complete in-game Contracts, which come with their own risks and rewards. In Blackout, you were simply stuck with whatever you happened to find on the ground, making the matches a little more luck-based than in Warzone.

Speaking of Cash and Buy Stations, Warzone allows you to purchase Self-Revive Kits, among other things, and you can even buy your dead teammates and get them back into the match. Although, the teammates are allowed to get back themselves with the Gulag. This is a respawn system where you fight against another eliminated player. If you win, you drop right back into the ongoing match. 

There are also some smaller differences like the map size, but the distinctions made above are what we feel most separate Warzone from Blackout.