Call of Duty: Warzone battle royale is free to play and dropping tomorrow

It's official, Call of Duty Warzone is coming tomorrow, and it's free-to-play. This is big, folks.

Call of Duty's official Twitter account confirmed the battle royale is dropping tomorrow, March 10. For current Modern Warfare players, it's available as an add-on to the existing game as of 8am PT/11am ET/3pm BST. The download size will be between 15 and 22GB. For those who don't currently own Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the game will be available at 12pm PT/3pm ET/7pm BST and will be between 80-100GB.

As you can see from the trailer, which features LL Cool J's 'Mama Said Knock You Out' it looks like the new mode is going to be a wild ride. According to the official Activision blog post, Warzone will drop 150 players into one environment to play one of two modes: Plunder and Battle Royale. In Plunder, you'll have to collect the most cash by looting items on the map, stealing your enemies' money, and/or completing Contracts in-game. Battle Royale is exactly the mode you think it is, but the shrinking "circle" will be in the form of encroaching gas (for realism's sake). Warzone will support cross platform play and progression, allowing you to form a squad of three across PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

The most interesting aspect of Warzone is the 1v1 respawn mechanic called Gulag, where you're taken as a 'Prisoner of Warzone' after your first elimination. IN the Gulage, you'll get a chance to redeploy by defeating an opponent in a 1v1 battle. If any of your teammates fell by the wayside, they'll be on the balcony during the Gulag battle, witnessing your fight to return. If you fail to win in the Gulag, you can be redeployed if your teammates have completed enough in-game Contracts or earned enough cash to respawn you. Death is expensive.

The official Call of Duty Twitter account also shared a preview of the Warzone map, which takes place on Verdansk. You'll see the prison complex in the bottom right corner, a massive stadium near the center, and a ton of other locations that seem tailor-made for a firefight. Check it out here, or see the preview below.

(Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty: Warzone drops tomorrow, March 10, on all platforms for free.

Wondering if you should pick up the latest Call of Duty? Here's our Modern Warfare review.

Alyssa Mercante

Alyssa Mercante is an editor and features writer at GamesRadar based out of Brooklyn, NY. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.