Activision has unveiled a new map called “Area 99” for Call of Duty: Warzone, set to launch with Season 1 following the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. This map serves as the “birthplace” of the iconic Nuketown and brings a retrofuturistic aesthetic with a compact design ideal for fast-paced gameplay. Area 99 is a Resurgence map featuring lore about Nuketown’s origins, several unique points of interest, and intense, close-quarter combat opportunities.
Players can look forward to exploring this top-secret site and uncovering its hidden stories when Season 1 begins.
Key Takeaways
- Area 99 is the birthplace of Nuketown with lore about its origins.
- The map celebrates retrofuturism, with a small, focused scale for quick gunfights.
- The new map is coming with Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1.
Activision revealed the new Area 99 map coming to Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1, which begins after the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. The new Call of Duty: Warzone map is the “birthplace” of the popular Nuketown map, which was featured in past Black Ops entries.
Warzone will receive major changes alongside the launch of Black Ops 6, as both titles will support Call of Duty”s new omnidirectional movement system. The Call of Duty NEXT event confirmed that backpacks and Modern Warfare 3”s Guardian and Mosquito Drone scorestreaks will be removed from Warzone, and the Wildcard system will be returning. Although aspects of the game will be changed or removed, players will continue to have access to weapons from Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3, and brand-new content like modes and maps will be available in Warzone Season 1 and beyond.
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Area 99 is a new Warzone Resurgence map inspired by the “rapid and unrelenting gameplay” of the fan-favorite Nuketown multiplayer map, according to Treyarch. As the birthplace of Nuketown, the Area 99 map will contain lore about its origins, along with several points of interest. There are main roadways that players may use to traverse on foot and in vehicles to reach areas like the Reactor, Cooling Towers, Warehouse, or Nuketown Shipping facility near the south end of the map. Other POIs, including the Test Site and Bunker, are linked by open sand trenches, pipes, and wiring. Like other maps in Warzone, most of the gunfights will take place toward the center of the map, where the aforementioned Reactor POI is located.
New Area 99 Map is Coming in Warzone Season 1 Following Black Ops 6”s Launch
Close
- A top-secret government site, abandoned in March 1962
- The birthplace of Nuketown with lore about the multiplayer map”s origins
- 10 POIs:
- Reactor
- Cooling Towers
- Mannequin Assembly
- Test Site
- Bunker
- Pods
- Warehouse
- Manufacturing
- Nuketown Shopping
- Loading Bay
Treyarch notes that Area 99 is a celebration of the retrofuturism art style, so players will notice a lot of architecture and designs inspired by the aesthetic of diners and classic media of the 1950s. Area 99 also has an official mascot named “Archie Atom,” who can be seen on signs and billboards located all over the Resurgence map. According to official lore for Warzone, Area 99 was abandoned in March 1962, and it”s been slowly decaying and leaking radiation ever since. The radiation shouldn”t stop players from traversing the map and searching for opponents to kill, however.
Area 99”s scale is very similar to the Rebirth Island map in Warzone, with Treyarch noting that it”s a “focused and compact” location. As a result, players can expect to quickly get into gunfights after being deployed onto the map.
A release date for Warzone Season 1 was not announced at Call of Duty NEXT, but more information will likely be released in the coming months. Alongside the new Area 99 map, Warzone players may look forward to Classic Prestige, a Mastery Camo track, Dark Ops Challenges, and other new features during the first season. In addition, the beloved Verdansk map is coming back to Warzone in spring 2025.
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First-Person Shooter
Battle Royale
Systems
OpenCritic Reviews
Top Critic Rating:
80/100
Critics Recommend:
77%
Franchise
Call of Duty
Platform(s)
Xbox One
, PC
, PS4
, PS5
, Xbox Series X
, Xbox Series S
Released
March 10, 2020
Developer(s)
Infinity Ward
, Raven Software
Publisher(s)
Activision
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Engine
IW 8.0
ESRB
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Violence
How Long To Beat
30-36 hours
Steam Deck Compatibility
no
X|S Enhanced
YES
PS Plus Availability
N/A
Cross Save
YES
Cross-Platform Play
PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|SExpand
See at Xbox Games Store
See at Playstation Store
See at Steam
See at Battlenet
