Warzone 2 popped up early after Modern Warfare 2's latest update, but it won't let me in

Warzone 2 error MW2
(Image credit: Activision)

Modern Warfare 2 almost let me play Warzone 2 a week early, and now I'm desperately searching for another way into Al Mazrah. 

There appears to be a bug that's mistakenly throwing players across all three platforms into a game of Team Deathmatch on Al Mazrah – which isn't a map, but rather a location where a number of maps are set, and the space we'll be stalking in the refreshed battle royale come November 16. It's unclear if this was caused by a Modern Warfare 2 update or, in my case, an Xbox system update, but it's very much a thing. 

I was able to see the beautiful loading screen for an Al Mazrah Battle Royale until I eventually received one of the Warzone 2 error codes – Dev Error 6144. Interestingly, from there you can just about make out the new Warzone 2.0 launcher in the background (it's very yellow), and I was given the option to open or join a Warzone 2 private match. I tried to create one and it crashed the game – go figure. You can view the video right here if you want, although (thankfully) it did not capture how audibly excited I was for about 30 seconds. 

Other players on social media are reporting similar instances of limited access followed by crashes, although none have yet been able to penetrate the loading screen and actually play Warzone 2 early. If you'd like to try for yourself, here's what I'm rocking: I'm on Xbox Series X and jumped into a Quick Play playlist limited to TDM, Hardpoint, and Domination; from there, Modern Warfare 2 became the biggest battle royale tease of 2022. 

As much fun as I'm having chasing Modern Warfare 2 mastery camos, I am pretty eager to see more of Warzone 2. Having spent hundreds (if not thousands, I'd wager) of hours playing Call of Duty: Warzone as my only social outlet throughout lockdown, I'm keen to see a revised iteration of Infinity Ward's battle royale. 

And, honestly, I'd have quite cheerfully explored Al Mazrah on my lonesome this afternoon – plotting out the best routes to weapon drops, strongholds, and gas stations ahead of the action actually going live next week alongside Season 01 of the Modern Warfare 2 battle pass

Anyway, if anybody needs me, I'll be frantically rebooting my copy of Modern Warfare 2 in the vague hope that it'll give me another glimpse of Warzone 2. After all, that's gotta beat being thrown into another game of TDM on Santa Sena Border Crossing. 

Having fun with the latest Call of Duty but looking for a little extra firepower? Why not check out our pick of the best Modern Warfare 2 loadouts.

Josh West
UK Managing Editor, GamesRadar+

Josh West is the UK Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. He has over 10 years experience in online and print journalism, and holds a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Prior to starting his current position, Josh has served as GR+'s Features Editor and Deputy Editor of games™ magazine, and has freelanced for numerous publications including 3D Artist, Edge magazine, iCreate, Metal Hammer, Play, Retro Gamer, and SFX. Additionally, he has appeared on the BBC and ITV to provide expert comment, written for Scholastic books, edited a book for Hachette, and worked as the Assistant Producer of the Future Games Show. In his spare time, Josh likes to play bass guitar and video games. Years ago, he was in a few movies and TV shows that you've definitely seen but will never be able to spot him in.