Death can be an especially frustrating thing in Battle Royale games since you only get one life, and it means you have to restart the entire search for a new match. Respawn Entertainment alleviated some of those frustrations in Apex Legends, allowing dead players to be revived by their squadmates by using designated ‘Respawn Beacons’ across the map. The idea was so novel, in fact, that Epic Games implemented a similar mechanic into Fortnite shortly thereafter.
Now, Infinity Ward is taking things a step further with Call of Duty: Warzone’s Battle Royale mode.
When you die for the first time in Warzone’s Battle Royale mode, you’ll be sent to the Gulag. Yes, that Gulag. The same one from Modern Warfare 2’s campaign that was also introduced as a Gunfight map in Modern Warfare a while ago. Once there, players engage in a one on one fight to the death. There can only be one fight that takes place at a time, so you may have to wait your turn. While you wait, however, you can watch other fights from the upper level and even influence those fights a little bit by throwing rocks down at combatants. Whoever wins gets to respawn and get back into the match with their team. The Gulag isn’t open all the time, however, as it will close once a certain number of players are eliminated from a Battle Royale match.
On the other end of the spectrum, the loser must wait for their remaining squadmate(s) to bring them back into the game by using the game’s “Squad BuyBack” system. This requires players to spend a total of $4,500 in cash at a “Buy Station” to allow them to respawn. Cash is earned entirely in-game throughout a match, and cannot be bought with real money microtransactions.
According to many YouTubers and other influencers that have already gotten a sneak peek at Warzone, this is definitely one the things that separate it from other Battle Royales. With players constantly respawning, the game should move at a much faster pace since there are more engagements happening throughout a match.
Call of Duty: Warzone launches on Tuesday, March 10 on all platforms.
