The biggest line in the November 2 Warzone Season 1 intel is a two-word tag on the roadmap. Hajin and Zodiac are marked New. Verdansk and Rebirth Island are marked In-Season, which means the two maps Warzone players know best are not part of the November 6 launch. This guide covers that and the other major confirmed changes, and flags what Activision has not said yet.
Quick answer (TLDR): Verdansk and Rebirth Island are not in Warzone when Season 1 goes live at midnight ET on November 6, 2026. Both return later in Season 1, and no date has been published. Launch maps are Hajin (Battle Royale, 13 major POIs) and Zodiac (Resurgence, 10 POIs). Warzone also gets a Player Level reset, all 33 MW4 launch weapons, 18 Perks including 3 new Elite Perks, Tactical Sprint for everyone, and a move off PS4 and Xbox One, per Call of Duty's November 2 intel.
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Are Verdansk and Rebirth Island leaving Warzone?
Temporarily, yes. The official roadmap tags both maps In-Season, and the blog says Verdansk "returns later in Season 1." That is the part confusing players: in the r/CODWarzone roadmap thread, one commenter asked why two maps already in the game are being listed as future content, and another guessed the gap exists so people actually play the new maps instead of backing out to Rebirth. That second part is player speculation. Activision has given no reason.
Here is the official description of the Verdansk return:
"Verdansk returns later in Season 1, its familiar skyline now punctuated by the Signal Station, the Grazna-7 Launch Complex, Overlook skyscraper, and the high-tech Drone Labs." — Call of Duty Staff, November 2, 2026
Rebirth Island keeps the prison, control center and industrial compounds, and the blog calls out navigable waterways and hidden passages. Once they are back, Battle Royale and Battle Royale Casual run on Hajin and Verdansk, while Resurgence and Resurgence Casual run on Zodiac and Rebirth Island.
Two cautions. "In-Season" does not automatically mean the mid-season update, since the blog never ties either map to Season 1 Reloaded. And the Verdansk landmarks are not guaranteed to be brand new to every player: the blog calls them "newer landmarks," and at least one r/CODWarzone commenter says they match what the previous Warzone version already had.
For the launch-date context, see when Warzone comes to Modern Warfare 4, and for start times in 15 regions, our Season 1 release time guide.
What maps are in Warzone on November 6?
| Map | Mode | When | Key facts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hajin | Battle Royale, Massive Resurgence | Launch | 13 major POIs across North and South Korea, variable weather, new Gulag with 2 variants |
| Zodiac | Resurgence, Rally Point, Loaded Resurgence | Launch | 10 POIs, moving trains at Trackline, underground tunnels |
| Verdansk | Battle Royale | In-Season, no date | Signal Station, Grazna-7 Launch Complex, Overlook, Drone Labs |
| Rebirth Island | Resurgence, Loaded Resurgence | In-Season, no date | Prison, control center, navigable waterways |
Hajin differs from the DMZ version players already know. Activision lists changes to how the Edge Circle and Gas move, no radioactive cloud at the Hanuel Nuclear Reactor, different vehicles, and a different spread of loot caches and interactable objects. Our Hajin map page has the location background.
Zodiac's 10 POIs are Admin, Trackline, Furnace, Solar, Old Mines, Dispatch, Depot, Sentinel, Cooling and R&D. Beenox built it with Infinity Ward. If you played the August beta version, our Zodiac beta recap covers that build.
The limited-time modes and their player caps:
- Rally Point: Zodiac, 20 players, no circle, infinite Resurgence, drop in and out, with an exclusive blueprint and 2 camos to earn
- Massive Resurgence: Hajin, 120 players
- Loaded Resurgence: Zodiac and Rebirth Island, 44 players, deploy with your Loadout and earn Perks from eliminations
- Mid-Season: Extreme Resurgence and Rockets and Snipers, details still to come
What changes for your level, weapons and camos?
This is the section that affects anyone with hours in Warzone already. The official list for November 6:
- Player Level reset, with leveling and optional Prestige shared across Multiplayer, DMZ and Warzone
- All 33 MW4 launch weapons, plus Season 1 additions, each with Weapon Prestige and Warzone Mastery Camos
- Apex Attachments, Daily Challenges, Calling Card Challenges, Battle Pass and BlackCell progress
The Progression and Prestige blog sets the Player Level range at 1 to 55. Warzone XP will count toward that level, but it does not count toward your separate DMZ Level. The November 2 post does not spell out whether a level already earned in MW4 changes, so we are not stating either way. More on the system in our prestige and leveling explainer.
Warzone Mastery Camo requirements are now public:
| Camo | Requirement | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Parallax | 5 kills in a match | 300 times |
| Damascus Reforged | 2 kills without plating | 200 times |
| Empyros | Top 5 with at least 6 kills | 75 times |
The three challenges run in order, starting once you reach the Divergence Completionist camo, so that is 575 qualifying results before Empyros. Activision says the Mastery grind "can be completed with any weapon or combination of weapons." Also new: Grind for Royalty builds challenges from your own stats and pays out 2 camos per season, Gold Excellence and Gold Mosaic in Season 1. The in-game Return to Warzone event offers Renaissance, Violet Striker and Neutral Ground.
What happens to legacy weapons and Operators?
They stay, with limits. Operators, Operator Skins, Weapon Blueprints, Calling Cards, Emblems, Finishing Moves, Emotes, Sprays, Parachutes and Contrails from Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 all remain available. Weapon camos from legacy titles do not, per Activision's corrected Operator Skin Toggle post.
Legacy weapons move to the Legacy tab of the Loadout menu and lose 5 features: Mastery Camos, Reticle Challenges, Weapon Customization, Cosmetic Gunsmithing, and Build Sharing and Build Codes. You cannot edit them in Gunsmith. Each one gets a five-attachment version, and your Legacy Blueprints keep their setups, but all of these start locked and must be unlocked with Player XP in the Armory. So the reset costs you a little time even on guns you already own.
The roadmap panel also adds an asterisk: "26+ Operators" is marked "MW4 Required." Warzone stays free-to-play, and we cover what that means in is Warzone free with MW4. Full carry-forward detail is in our legacy weapons guide.
What are Elite Perks, and is Ghost gone?
Warzone has 18 Perks: 15 you pick in your Loadout, 5 per slot, and 3 Elite Perks found during a match. Elite Perks add a fourth Perk slot, come from Buy Stations and Supply Run Contracts, and only one can be equipped at a time.
- Athleticism: more agile strafing, crouching and ADS movement, with reduced ADS penalties when jumping and sliding
- Phantom: undetectable from enemy recon Killstreaks, equipment and Perks
- Fieldcraft: rapidly regenerates armor and equipment
No Perk named Ghost appears in the 15 Loadout options, which is what set off a thread on r/CODWarzone. The closest effect is now Phantom, and that changes how you play: full recon immunity is something you find mid-match, not something you bring in. Incognito is in the Loadout pool, but it only reduces how long you are revealed. Tempered, which refills armor with 2 plates instead of 3, is in slot 3.
Elsewhere in the sandbox, the blog lists 8 Tacticals, 10 Lethals, 13 Field Upgrades, 9 Killstreaks and 4 Special Items. Field Upgrades and Killstreaks are not part of your Loadout. Every one is found or bought in the match.
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Which gameplay features are new?
- Tactical Sprint is now available to all Operators with no Perk, with a slightly shorter duration
- Drag revive: pull a teammate out of danger while reviving them
- Zipline Launcher: a Field Upgrade your whole squad can use, and enemies too, and you can fire your Pistol while riding it
- Grabber Drone: picks up loot, objects, Buy Station items and even Operators, on limited battery
- Interactive objects: movable Fuel Barrels, plus dumpsters, concrete cylinders and road pyramids you can push or pull, found mostly on Hajin, Zodiac and Verdansk
- Ground Ops: drillable safes, surveillance towers, cargo drones and radioactive barrels found with a Geiger counter
- Weapon Trade Station and Drop Kits: Resurgence only, with 4 Drop Kits called Insured, Loadout, Armored and Radar
Weapon Augments are the one to watch. Drones drop portable "Fly Buy" Buy Stations, and limited stock there sells 3 upgrades for the match: CQC (ADS, sprint to fire, hipfire recoil), Marksman (bullet velocity, damage range, horizontal recoil) and Handling (reload, rechamber, slide to fire, flinch). Activision has not published the numbers, and the Season 1 patch notes are still to come, so treat any exact values you see before November 6 as unconfirmed.
Who can and can't play on November 6?
- PS4 and Xbox One: Warzone is no longer playable from Season 1. Progression carries to a supported platform if you log in with the same linked Activision account. See our last-gen support breakdown.
- Nintendo Switch 2: Warzone launches there for the first time at the start of Season 1.
- Start time: midnight ET on November 6, or 9 PM PT on November 5, on all platforms.
How should you get ready before November 6?
Weapons are where the time goes. Season 1 adds the Cronen Osprey and CSG-35, and Warzone's Mastery Camos sit behind each gun's full camo track. Multiplayer is open now, so getting your main guns leveled this week puts you ahead of everyone joining fresh. Our weapon prestige guide explains the ladder.
Want your MW4 setup locked in before Season 1? Bot lobbies, camos and weapon leveling are ready now, so you can drop into Hajin with your guns already sorted.
- MW4 Bot Lobbies: private lobbies for level and camo grinds on easy mode
- MW4 Mastery Camo Bundle: mastery camo help for your main guns
- MW4 Weapon Leveling: max any gun and unlock every attachment
- MW4 Account Leveling: skip the grind with pro players
- Warzone Bot Lobbies: for grinding Warzone-only challenges
FAQ
Is Verdansk in Warzone Season 1? Yes, but not at launch. The official roadmap tags it In-Season, and Activision says it "returns later in Season 1." Hajin is the Battle Royale map on November 6.
When does Rebirth Island come back to Warzone? Later in Season 1. Activision has not published a date. Zodiac is the Resurgence map at launch.
What time does Warzone Season 1 start? Midnight ET on Friday, November 6, 2026, which is 9 PM PT on Thursday, November 5, across all platforms.
Do my Warzone levels reset in Season 1? Activision lists a Player Level reset at launch, with leveling and optional Prestige shared across Multiplayer, DMZ and Warzone. Operators, skins and blueprints carry forward.
Can I still use Black Ops 7 weapons in Warzone? Yes, from the Legacy tab, but you cannot edit them in Gunsmith, and they have no Mastery Camos or Build Codes. Legacy Blueprints start locked and open with Player XP in the Armory.
Is Ghost in MW4 Warzone? No Perk named Ghost is listed. Phantom, a match-only Elite Perk, makes you undetectable from enemy recon Killstreaks, equipment and Perks.
Can you play Warzone on PS4 after Season 1? No. Warzone stops being playable on PS4 and Xbox One from Season 1. Progression carries over if you log in on a supported platform with the same linked Activision account.
