Call of Duty Modern Warfare: Haunting of Verdansk update

Last month, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s publisher Activision teased a limited time Halloween event which would feature in the game, and its announcement has since been confirmed.

Beginning today (October 20), the spooky Halloween themed event will last for two weeks, ending on November 3rd and will feature a ton of exciting new features for players to indulge in.

The update will be available across all platforms (PS4, Xbox One and PC), and will bring forth new additions to both the Multiplayer and Warzone game modes, including cameos from popular movies The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Saw.

These movie themed bundles can be seen below:

Available bundle based on the movie "Saw". (Image Credit: cod.tracker.gg)

Available bundle based on the movie "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". (Image Credit: cod.tracker.gg)

Moreover, the game modes themselves will be subject to brand new features. Courtesy of Activision, here are some descriptions for the Halloween themed Warzone updates:

NIGHT TIME: "Although the full moon’s glow prevents total darkness, operators might want to still pack some Thermal optics in their Loadout Drops to help spot enemies lurking about in low-light areas or use Cold-Blooded to counter these high-tech tools.

The “night time” mode will be optional for those who dare to take on Verdansk after hours.

TRICK-OR-TREAT EVENT: "No matter the operation, visiting Verdansk at night will leave operators open to a few frights. Some say that a ventriloquist doll frequently appears on television sets tuned to defunct channels, and the poltergeist of a chainsaw-wielding killer can be seen and heard across the Krovnik Farmland.

“Others claim that the defunct tracks near the Train Station are still in use by a ghost train, a vessel filled with souls of those who lost their lives fighting in the Gulag…”

These “trick-or-treat” rewards will be available via special Supply Boxes that will be plotted at various locations on the map. Some might contain the rare weapon Blueprints, though others could come with a “terrifying fright.” There’s no guarantee that you’ll get a reward from every box you open, but we’d recommend attempting to find as many as you can.

(Image Credit: Activision)

There are 16 rewards available from the boxes and they will include the likes of the Epic "Return to Dust" Assault Rifle blueprint, "The Cleaver" Legendary Melee blueprint, a holographic watch, stickers, sprays, charms, calling cards, and emblems.

Those who manage to collect all 16 event rewards will unlock the "Pumpkin Punisher" Legendary Assault Rifle blueprint. And don’t worry, the “terrifying fright” won’t inflict damage on you.

The 16 items and their known locations are as follows:

• “Spooky Scene” Animated Calling Card (Storage Town)
• “Jack-O-Lantern” Charm (Boneyard)
• “Skeleton Crew” Spray (Superstore)
• “Time of the Season” Watch (Dam)
• “Lil’ Demon” Charm (Hills)
• “The Joker” Sticker (Airport)
• “The Woodsman” Spray (Train)
• “Return to Dust” Assault Rifle (Military Base)
• “Pumpkin Peril” Animated Calling Card (Hospital)
• “Freak of Nature” Spray (TV Station)
• “Chainsaw Fiend” Spray (Downtown)
• “Flashy Fate” Sticker (Quarry)
• “The Harvester” Animated Emblem (Stadium)
• “Ghoulish Gift” Animated Emblem (Port)
• “Scary Patch” Animated Emblem (Lumber Yard)
• “The Cleaver” Melee Weapon Blueprint (Gulag)

But you must be careful... As stated above, some of these boxes will contain nothing but a jump scare and you may not always be rewarded by finding one. You may also have to fight off other players in order to gain safe access to a box.

Once you’ve claimed the rewards from a specific part of the map, a checkmark will appear in-game. Advance to each location ensuring you gain the reward from each one; sometimes you will have to visit the same location multiple times!

Hard work and dedication will be rewarded with access to the special, limited edition, Legendary Pumpkin Punisher Assault Rifle Blueprint.

(Image Credit: AOTF)

The Pumpkin Punisher Blueprint is a modified Grau 5.56 AR aptly coated in orange paint, and features a wicked white smile carved into its side. It comes equipped with the FSS 20.8″ Barrel, a Commando Foregrip, a Tac Laser, a PBX Holo 7 Sight, and an FSS Blackjack Stock.

You can check your progress toward earning the Blueprint and see how many Trick or Treat supply boxes you have left to open by visiting the “Halloween Event” tab in the Warzone menu.

ZOMBIE ROYALE: "Operators can fight against and alongside powerful zombified creatures as part of Zombie Royale, a limited-time mode where death is far from permanent.

"Instead of being sent to the Gulag, dead Operators will come back to life as a zombie. Although zombies cannot use weapons, they have supernatural abilities: increased speed, improved jumps, deadlier melee attacks, and thermal vision."

This will be a separate game mode for Warzone and will give players the chance to respawn from the Gulag as zombies. As a zombie, you’ll have the capacity to both terrorise your enemies and assist your teammates in new and creative ways.

(Image Credit: Activision)

You may reverse this process by tracking killed enemies. A dead player will drop a medical syringe which will be visible on the map; collect two of these and you will find yourself parachuting down for a second chance to be the last team standing in Verdansk.

Suitably, Zombie Royale will only be available in “night time” mode, so you should expect to experience the darkness and all of its haunts, along with the Trick or Treat boxes that will also be available.

Elsewhere in Modern Warfare’s Multiplayer, the mode will also feature some scary additions such as visual updates to maps, as well as two new game modes:

ONSLAUGHTER

Squads must wrest control of a Juggernaut suit that spawns somewhere on the map and advance forward into a specific goal area.

Be prepared for plenty of Minigun firing and consider powerful Killstreaks to take down an opposing Juggernaut, as well as the chaotic scrambling whenever the suit is available for the taking.

Also, the Juggernaut in this mode – and in all other modes during The Haunting of Verdansk – will come with a pumpkin head.

SNIPERS ONLY

As the name suggests, only Sniper Rifles will be available for this Team Deathmatch variant. Instead of custom loadouts, all operators will have a choice between five pre-made loadouts.

For COD fans in the UK, the next Call of Duty Modern Warfare update is expected to go live at around 6pm BST, although this could be subject to changes, delays and other unforeseen circumstances (fingers crossed it won’t!).

For gamers in the United States, the Haunting in Warzone update, if on time, should launch at 10am PDT. Be prepared as we would assume this update will be quite large.