Infinity Ward officially unveils Warzone: Nexus, a ground-up reimagining of the battle royale experience launching alongside Modern Warfare 4, featuring a Venice-inspired flooded city and three brand-new gameplay modes.
Infinity Ward has pulled back the curtain on Warzone: Nexus, the massive new battle royale experience that will launch alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on November 6. In a developer livestream today, the studio revealed a Venice-inspired flooded European city map, a brand-new "Nexus" extraction mode, and significant changes to core Warzone mechanics powered by the IW 10.0 engine.
The New Map: "Canal Grande"
The centerpiece of Warzone: Nexus is a brand-new map called "Canal Grande" — a sprawling 5km x 5km city inspired by Venice, Amsterdam, and Bruges. Unlike previous Warzone maps that focused on open fields and scattered compounds, Canal Grande is a dense urban environment where water channels separate distinct districts: the Financial Quarter with towering skyscrapers, the Industrial Docks with massive cargo ships, the Cathedral District with narrow medieval alleyways, and the flooded Subterranean Metro system that connects the map underground.
The most significant gameplay change comes from the water mechanics. Players can now fully submerge, swim through flooded buildings, and use underwater tunnels to flank enemies. New aquatic vehicles — including speedboats, jet skis, and a prototype amphibious ATV — allow for rapid traversal across the canal network. However, swimming in open water makes players visible to aerial killstreaks, creating a risk-reward dynamic similar to Verdansk's open fields.
Nexus Extraction Mode
The marquee new addition is "Nexus" — an extraction-based mode that blends Warzone's battle royale tension with DMZ-style objectives. In Nexus, teams of three drop into Canal Grande with a primary mission: secure three data terminals scattered across the map and upload intel to an extraction helicopter. Opposing teams can intercept uploads, steal data, and extract with your hard-earned loot. Successful extractions reward permanent weapon blueprints, operator skins, and in-match currency that carries over between matches.
"Nexus represents our vision for how Warzone should evolve," said Infinity Ward's multiplayer director in the livestream. "It's faster, more tactical, and every decision matters. Do you push for the high-value upload knowing enemies are nearby? Or do you play it safe and extract early? That tension is what makes Warzone great."
Engine and Performance
Warzone: Nexus runs on the full IW 10.0 engine, bringing ray-traced reflections, dynamic water physics, and destructible environments to the battle royale experience. On PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X, the game targets 120 FPS in a new "Performance RT" mode. PC players can expect full DLSS 4 support and ultrawide monitor compatibility at launch.
Cross-progression across all platforms is confirmed via Call of Duty HQ, meaning all weapon progress, battle pass tiers, and cosmetic items earned in MW4 multiplayer will carry over to Warzone: Nexus. The game will also support full cross-play with input-based matchmaking options.
A Warzone: Nexus beta will run from September 18-22 for all pre-order customers, with an open beta weekend following on September 25-28. The full game launches November 6 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.