A new slate of Black Ops 6 maps, events and a brand new battle pass are ready to go for season 3’s launch on Wednesday, April 2. But Warzone players will have to wait to join in on the fun, as the battle royale mode is going offline for a full day.
Taking Warzone offline is a surprising move, but it makes sense for developer Treyarch right now. The previous Warzone season was dedicated to bug fixes and ensuring the game’s health, and the upcoming season is centered around the return of a fan-favorite map.
It has been hinted that Verdansk will feature mobility options that have never been implemented, so Warzone downtime will likely ensure that this massive update ships properly.
Here’s what we know about the launch of Black Ops 6 season 3 and the Warzone outage that will follow.
When does Black Ops 6 season 3 release?
Black Ops 6 players have experienced some whiplash from the season 3 release date.
The timer on the season 2 battle pass originally indicated that the season would roll over on March 20, until Activision revealed a April 3 date for the season 3 launch.
Now we know that season 3 is launching a day earlier than expected, going live on Wednesday, April 2 at 12 p.m. ET.
Not sure when that is for you? Here’s when Black Ops 2 season 3 becomes available in your time zone:
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Eastern: April 2 at 12 p.m.
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Central: April 2 at 11 a.m.
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Mountain: April 2 at 10 a.m.
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Pacific: April 2 at 9 a.m.
How long will Call of Duty Warzone be offline?
When the Black Ops 6 season 3 update releases on April 2, Warzone will go offline for one full day so Treyarch can adequately prepare for the return of the long-awaited Verdansk map.
Warzone’s season 3 content will be released when the game comes online again after the 24-hour downtime, which means another downloadable patch will be waiting for players when they log in to Call of Duty Warzone on Thursday, April 3 at 12 p.m. ET.
Not sure when Warzone will be back up in your time zone? Here’s when the battle royale’s season 3 content will be ready for you:
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Eastern Time: April 3 at 12 p.m.
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Central Time: April 3 at 11 a.m.
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Mountain Time: April 3 at 10 a.m.
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Pacific Time: April 3 at 9 a.m.
If all of that sounds a little confusing, it is, particularly if you’re new to the Call of Duty ecosystem. First, it’s important to know that both Black Ops 6 and Warzone are separate parts of Call of Duty. In the past, updates of this sort have been released in lockstep. They launch from the same application but aren’t the same game. In this instance, Black Ops 6 will release its season 3 update on April 2, and it will remain playable with no downtime. Meanwhile, when that update launches, Warzone will have 24 hours of downtime, after which its own «season 3» update will debut and be playable again.
How to unlock the Kilo 141 in Black Ops 6 and Warzone
As compensation for the Warzone outage, one of the most popular assault rifles from Call of Duty’s battle royale mode is returning for free.
Anyone opening the Warzone game menu during its downtime on April 2 will automatically unlock the Kilo 141 assault rifle, promoting the return of the original Verdansk map the next day.
This fully automatic assault rifle was popular among the player base for its well-rounded stats. It features a 30-round magazine and a 751 RPM. The Kilo 141 has extremely high stopping power at close range but some of the worst damage falloff of any assault rifle at long distances.
This made the weapon a common pick for players engaging in close-quarters combat in the first iteration of Warzone and will undoubtedly make it worth using now.