Everything we know about Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone Pacific Season 1

Looking for details on Warzone Pacific Season 1? This year's Call of Duty instalment, Vanguard, launched last month, but like last year, we've had to wait for its full integration with Warzone. As usual, you can expect new weapons, operators, and playlists, but the upcoming season also sees the end of the long-running Verdansk map.

There will be a new map to jump straight into and explore, though. And it will be fun to find out if there are any bunker-like challenges to tackle. So if you're ready to dive into the details, here's what we know about Vanguard and Warzone Pacific Season 1.

Release date

When is the Warzone Pacific Season 1 release date? 

The Warzone Pacific Season 1 release date is December 9, though if you own Vanguard, you get '24-hour exclusive access' to the new map, starting the day before on December 8. The name is also officially changing on that date to 'Warzone Pacific' instead of just plain old Warzone—perhaps to make things a little less confusing.

Map changes

Warzone Pacific Season 1 map changes 

The new season ushers in the new Caldera map, which will replace the long-running Verdansk. Caldera promises to be roughly the same size as the map it's replacing and will contain 15 distinct areas to explore.

We've had a few glimpses of the new map over the last few months, but we've since had a closer look at some of those Caldera locations. They are:

• Naval Arsenal
• Industrial Docks
• Runway
• Ruins
• Phosphate Mines
• Peak
• Beachhead
• River Village
• Clear Water Lagoon
• Caldera Terminal
• Agricultural Center
• Shark’s Lair Submarine Pen
• Caldera Power Plant
• Caldera Capital City
• Royal Cabana Resort

The new Ricochet anti-cheat system will also be introduced to Warzone, along with the new Caldera map. The Season 1 update will “deploy the server-side upgrades”, as well as “new, internally developed kernel-level driver on PC to assist in identifying cheaters.” 

Rebirth Island returns 

Rebirth Island will also return later in Warzone Pacific Season 1, along with its associated playlists. You can expect the smaller map to continue supplementing the main Warzone map. 

Vanguard weapons, playlists and vehicles

Vanguard weapons and playlists in Warzone Pacific Season 1 

The new playlists for Season 1 are Vanguard Royale and Vanguard Plunder, though the latter will arrive at a later date in Season 1. You'll only be able to use Vanguard-specific weapons in loadouts for these particular playlists to help “streamline the meta, granting new players an opportunity to jump in without facing fully maxed-out loadouts right at launch.” Only fair, right? 

If you're keen to use your old loadouts, you can still use your Cold War and Modern Warfare weaponry in Standard playlists, as well as the 40 weapons from Vanguard. In addition, all Operators from Vanguard, Cold War, and Modern Warfare can be used across all playlists, Standard or not.

New vehicles 

A new machine gun fighter aircraft aims to add strategy and firepower to your dogfighting pursuits and help your squad come out on top. To counteract this, an anti-air truck gives you the means to shut down opponents that have taken to the air—in addition to the traditional launchers or stationary AA turrets.

New weapons and Operators

New weapons and Operators 

We know there'll be new multiplayer maps and Operators arriving in Season 1, but these haven't been officially revealed at time of writing. That said, there have been some rumours suggesting possible candidates. Regardless, these are still just unconfirmed rumours. 

According to a leak from the PlayStation Store database, the three new Operators are Anna, Lewis, and Francis—you can see them in the image in the tweet below. According to Charlieintel, the weapons the Operators are holding could point to two of the possible three new weapons coming to Vanguard. These are:

• M1944 Hyde Carbine
• Welgun

Contracts and public events

Contracts and public events 

You'll have new contracts to complete during a match, such as a Supply Drop Contract that anyone can pick up, but only the squad with the contract knows the drop location. Another new contract is a Big Game Bounty, which tasks you with taking out the operator with the highest kill count.

The Restocks and Resurgences events from Rebirth Island will come to Caldera, and perhaps more intriguingly, we've been given this tease of another upcoming event:

“There are also rumours of [[REDACTED]] Weapon Crates that can appear around the island, which contain the coveted [[REDACTED]] Weapon Blueprints seen in Verdansk, and armaments extracted from the meta-forward galaxy brains of the studios’ Gunsmith gurus.”

Other

Other changes 

Gulag
If you win a Gulag in Warzone Pacific Season 1, you'll be able to drop back in with the weapons you gained during the duel. Essentially, any ammo or remaining equipment carries over between the Gulag and the redeploy.

Loadout Drop Markers
You'll have to buy Loadout Drop Markers from Buy Stations, and only after the Loadout Drop event has happened in a match after the first circle closure.

Gas Mask changes
Gas Masks will no longer interrupt as many actions as they did previously, though you'll still be at a combat disadvantage to someone standing in the circle.

Shallow water
Operators will be able to wade through shallow water, which can help hide footsteps from those with the Tracker perk. Crouching in water will also give you the benefit of the Cold Blooded perk, though you won't be able to go prone if you're spotted.