Everything we know about Call of Duty: Warzone Season 5

Call of Duty: Warzone's Season 5 is just a whisker away, so the countdown is well and truly on. Here's our page featuring everything we know about Warzone Season 5, including when Season 5 releases in various time zones, what the new weapons and operators are, and any new changes to the Verdansk map expected by players. 

So, read on for the intel you need to gear up and get ready for more Warzone. With the addition of Kitsune, brand new guns, and even some exclusive perks, read on for everything you need to know about Season 5.

When is the Cold War and Warzone Season 5 release date?

Call of Duty Season 5 will be released on Thursday August 12 or Friday August 13, depending on your timezone. Keep your auto-update on, because you can probably expect a chunky file size from the Warzone update.

Handily, there's a countdown on the Season 4 Battle Pass, so you can check exactly how long you have to wait. For a bit of a helping hand though, here are a few locations and the season-end times.

• Pacific US Time: Monday August 12, 21:00
• Eastern US Time: Tuesday August 13, 00:00
• UK/BST: Tuesday August 13, 05:00
• Central European Time: Tuesday August 13, 06:00

Like usual, the Season 5 Battle Pass will cost 1000 COD points, the equivalent of $9.99 (with 100 points leftover). You can also pay 2400 COD points, or $19.99, to skip 25 tiers on the Battle Pass and get a little head start.

What new guns are coming to Call of Duty: Warzone Season 5?

The new Warzone guns have been announced, along with everything else we can expect in the Season 5 Roadmap! You can check out the roadmap below, which includes information about the new season in Cold War and Zombies, as well as Warzone.

The new weapons available in Warzone are:

• EM2 (Assault Rifle)
• TEC-9 (Submachine Gun)
• Cane (Melee)
• Marshal (Handgun)
• Flamethrower (Scorestreak)

The two Battle Pass guns will be the EM2 and TEC-9, so keep your eyes on PC Gamer for our loadout guides once those weapons hit Verdansk! Hopefully they'll provide something unique to the meta and make a bit of a splash for players of all experience levels. The EM2 will be unlockable for free at rank 15, whilst the TEC-9 semi-auto SMG can be used at rank 31.

The Cane will also be unlockable at the start of the season, predictably with some intense challenge to go along with unlocking it.

Finally, the Marshal is an amazing-looking double-barrelled pistol that'll likely pack some serious firepower in Verdansk. 

To me, the TEC-9 looks the most intriguing prospect out of the new weapon options here. It's a semi-automatic SMG, but you can add barrel attachments that make it fully auto or three-round burst. They do this whilst simultaneously silencing your weapon, so I'm excited to give it a go and see what slick loadouts I can make for the TEC-9. Keep your eyes peeled!

What gameplay and map changes are coming to Warzone?

Last season we saw a few tweaks, including the ill-fated Red Doors, plagued with bugs and issues. 

Season 5 has been confirmed to have some tweaks to the map, although not the widespread changes players have been clamouring for. You can go to Mobile Broadcast Stations in various places about the map, and gain rewards. You might also be converted to Perseus' side, apparently. 

According to the official blog post, "NATO is aware of these recent Perseus efforts and has decided to [[REDACTED]]. Operators should look for [[REDACTED]] when it arrives on [[REDACTED]] within Verdansk, as a highly important [[REDACTED]]". 

Thanks a lot, patch notes. Expect some guides here on PC Gamer once we figure out what they're on about.

When it comes to actual gameplay changes, we are seeing some fancy new Warzone perks coming to the game. This'll hopefully give your Warzone loadouts a bit more variety, with Ghost and EOD being extremely popular without much change unless you're a bit of a wild one. Here are the two perks joining Warzone exclusively:

• Combat Scout - briefly highlights enemies when you hit them, pinging them on the map and turning them bright orange.
• Tempered - beefs up your armour so you only need two plates, rather than three. This means each plate gives you 75 extra health.

I'm excited to try these new perks out! Tempered is going to take up the Perk 2 slot, which could cause it some issues given how powerful Ghost, High Alert, or Restock can be. It does speed up your re-plating process though, and this could be the difference between victory and defeat in the heat of battle, as well as reducing the number you have to use in a pinch.

Combat Scout is the one I'm most excited for, especially if it isn't taking up a Perk 2 slot. It seems really powerful, particularly for squads with good communication skills - you'll be able to keep track of rival squads and keep the pressure on them as they try to fight back.

One final change gameplay-wise is a new Gulag, which is always exciting. I honestly hope for something super simple like the original shower/toilet situation, but the Black Ops II map Rush looks like it could be a really cool choice, especially for long-term COD fans. Paintball fights galore.

Who are the new Warzone operators?

Each season adds new playable operators, and Season 5 continues that trend. There will be three operators added to Warzone in Season 5:

• Kitsune
• Stryker
• Hudson

Kitsune is the operator seen in the Season Five cinematic below, and is unlockable at tier 0 of the Battle Pass, whilst the other two will arrive later on in the season. She's the daughter of a Yakuza boss who gained respect through her knowledge of cybersecurity and proficiency at killing people. 

The Battle Pass will also include skins for your favourite operators, including Woods' 'Payback' skin and Baker's 'Scuba Diver' skin. Hopefully for me, Charley finally stops getting neglected and gets some slick looks.

So there you go—that's what we know so far about Warzone Season 5. The only other thing to keep an eye out for is the mid-season 'The Numbers' event! We'll have all the guides you could ever want right here on PC Gamer for all of it, so keep your eyes peeled.

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