Call of Duty: Warzone 2 overhauls vehicle combat with new animations and abilities

Modern Warfare 2 screenshot
(Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty: Warzone 2 places a big emphasis on vehicle combat, with all-new animations, vehicles, and and abilities.

As announced earlier today on September 15 at the big Call of Duty Next event, Warzone 2 is really overhauling vehicle combat. Firstly, there's completely new "dynamic vehicle gameplay," giving players the chance to get to grips with brand new vehicles offering increased destruction on both players and the surrounding scenery.

Additionally, Warzone 2 will let players lean out of vehicle windows for a better shot at opponents. Players will even be able to mantle up onto vehicle roofs, which should help eliminate vehicles from generally being an impassable piece of terrain while they're stationary, used by enemy teams as cover on the battlefield.

Speaking of mantling vehicles, movement is generally seeing a pretty big overhaul in Call of Duty: Warzone 2. There's all-new swimming combat, for example, where players can dive deep underwater to get a stealthy drop on enemies, or mantling and hanging from ledges with completely new animations. You'll need those movement abilities, as you'll now have to deal with AI factions in Warzone 2 as you explore the new map Al Mazrah.

The Warzone 2 release date is set for November 16 across all PC and console platforms, the Call of Duty Next event revealed earlier today. There's just a few weeks between the launch of Warzone 2 in November, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 the month prior on October 28, but both games are made using the very same game engine. 

Check out our full guide to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta dates for when you can get in on one of the new games ahead of next month. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.