Warzone 2 Season 6 early patch notes: The Haunting event, Zombie Royale, Al Mazrah night, and more

Call of Duty has just announced the official overview patch for Warzone 2 Season 5. From a nighttime Al Mazrah to Vondel, a horde of zombies are coming to the battle royale with the "The Haunting" event. Apart from incorporating fan favorites, the franchise is also introducing brand-new crossovers with the Spawn, the Skeletor, and much more.

Here are the detailed early patch notes for the Call of Duty Battle Royale and everything coming in the Haunting event.

Warzone 2 early patch notes for Season 6

Operation Nightmare is a GO: Coming at mid-season, investigate eldritch anomalies across the map and face a host of monstrous targets as you gradually clear a Bounty board of otherworldly terrors.
Welcome to Vondead: A demonic incantation unleashed an uncontained zombie outbreak across Vondel. The undead have ravaged the streets under a bloodred moon. Shocking secrets are waiting to be discovered.
Zombie Royale is back for both maps: Tear into this infamous limited-time mode at mid-season with all-new innovations but the same chaotic premise — return to battle as a fast-moving Zombie. Survive or get eaten.
Lockdown returns, otherworldly loot, and events: Head to Vondel for more Lockdown action, gather Souls for in-game rewards, and prepare for plenty of jump scares, eldritch equipment, and much more.

The Haunting: Operation Nightmare in Warzone 2 (Al Mazrah, Mid-Season)

Operation Nightmare (Image via Activision)

Operators within the Al Mazrah AO, listen up! After the Hellmouth incident, we have alarming reports at increasing frequency of several eldritch hot spots appearing. You are to investigate these anomalies as Operation Nightmare officially begins on October 17, and the following recon has been obtained to offer a glimpse at the chaos to come in Warzone 2:

Mission parameters: Entities have been detected throughout the AO, and the [[REDACTED]] of each encounter will be referenced on your Tac-Map. You must investigate each location and eliminate the “Most Wanted” Target, as well as any other hostiles.

Initial recon: A bounty has been offered on a number of [[REDACTED]] targets, and rewards for exceptional bravery may result in [[REDACTED]], as well as a Mastery Weapon Blueprint. Unconfirmed reports state that the following apocryphal activities have been observed:

An ancient tomb complex has been unearthed [[REDACTED]], hieroglyphs, and [[REDACTED]] entity known as “The Pharaoh” has been [[REDACTED]].
Witnesses report seeing strange lights and [[REDACTED]] in the night sky over [[REDACTED]], though unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) has [[REDACTED]] or “orbs.”
Encounters with a spectral [[REDACTED]], seemingly accessible [[REDACTED]], with Operator vehicles necessary to [[REDACTED]], moving at a rapid pace.
Unconfirmed [[REDACTED]], further into the swamp, where [[REDACTED]] abomination known as the “Swamp Creature,” though [[REDACTED]] non-standard armaments.
Observers in the [[REDACTED]] region describe a glowing, wisp-like ethereal [[REDACTED]], multiple hostiles [[REDACTED]] “Evil Spirits.”
Outside the stone walls [[REDACTED]] platforms of particular concern, [[REDACTED]] the Altars of Lilith, [[REDACTED]] Nightmare Portal [[REDACTED]] codenamed “The Butcher.” This influence may extend to the Vondel AO.

The Haunting: Vondead in Warzone 2 (Vondel, Mid-Season)

Additional supernatural activities have emerged across Vondel, which has forced a complete evacuation of the city and surrounding area. A demonic incantation by a sorceress has unleashed a zombie outbreak, bringing nightmares to life as the canals of Vondead run red with blood. Up in the firmament, a rare Blood Moon hangs ominously in the sky, casting Vondel in an eerie, scarlet-tinged darkness.

Graveyard of the Witch, Altars of the Butcher

The source of this anomalous activity appears to be the Graveyard, which is a hive of summoning activity and should be infiltrated. However, many of Vondead’s points of interest show signs of a city overrun with the undead — from the burning vehicles to the barricaded and vandalized shops to the bloodied tramway and train station. There are other alarming activities to investigate at the zoo, stadium, and elsewhere.

Demonic altars have also been erected around Vondead, seemingly a source of power for these activities and linked in some way to a feared entity known in myth and legend as “The Butcher.” Have you the skill and mettle to summon this hulking demon, descend into the underworld to face him in battle, and reap the rewards if you can dare defeat him?

Perhaps there are other hidden rewards to find as you brave the blood-covered streets of Vondead in Warzone 2?

The Haunting: Zombie Royale in Warzone 2 (Limited-Time Mode, Al Mazrah, Vondel, Mid-Season)

The infamous limited-time mode from previous iterations of The Haunting is back, with all-new innovations, as well as elements returning from past Zombies Royale experiences, including Rebirth of the Dead.

The dead walk the earth and congregate in especially gruesome versions of Al Mazrah and Vondel (each a separate Zombie Royale experience). During a match of Zombie Royale, those Operators slain by others find the Gulag permanently closed, and instead, their corpses are reanimated as vessels of the undead.

Once zombified, you’ll find several impressive abilities available as you attempt to savagely tear apart the remaining human Operators, all the while collecting special syringes with the purpose of ending your undead purgatory and returning to fight as a human. As the match progresses, expect an additional undead twist as the corpses of every Operator currently spectating the match twitch back to life, creating additional hordes of rotting foes to contend with.

Squads can still function with some of their Operators transformed into zombies, allowing for a variety of tactics if you work in unison. However, zombies slain in the continuing mayhem are eliminated from the match. The squad that defeats enemies, both undead and living, and finishes the fight can claim victory.

The Haunting: Vondead Lockdown in Warzone 2 (Limited-Time Mode, Vondel, Mid-Season)

Vondead is under Lockdown.

The limited-time mode is back and bloodier than ever. Those who experienced this limited-time mode during Season 04 know that this objective-based Battle Royale mode requires teams to bring in their Custom Loadouts from the drop, staying close and gaining points by capturing and holding zones like a large-scale version of the Multiplayer mode Hardpoint. This time, however, prepare to play it under an ominous moonlit, night-time variant of Vondel.

The Haunting: Equipment and Items in Warzone 2 (Mid-Season)

The Haunting items (Image via Activision)

Prowl the frightening gloom of Al Mazrah and Vondead in search of more than just zombies and monstrous entities to slay. There’s some additional, otherworldly loot to gather — and be extremely wary of — as The Haunting begins:

Captured Souls (Al Mazrah, Vondead)

As part of the Soul Capture Event across Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II (detailed in the General Overview section later in this blog), you will obtain Souls by racking up kills and defeating monstrous beings. These Souls are instantly awarded once you pick them up. You can keep them or trade them for a variety of impressive rewards after each match is complete in Warzone 2.

Haunted Box

The revolting Zombies roaming in Warzone 2's Al Mazrah and Vondead drop more than their entrails. Expect them to occasionally leave a strange-looking loot box behind, which can also be found throughout the maps.

Well worth seeking out as it spills out plates, ammunition, and equipment, acting like a mutated Armor and Munitions Box. Take extreme care when opening these boxes, lest you’re devoured by the living maw that has possessed these containers.

Bloodseeker Grenade

Fashioned into the shape of a vampire bat by an unknown evil, this parasitic “living grenade” latches on to enemies and highlights them in thermal vision. This is particularly helpful (or harrowing) in the nighttime operations you’re undertaking. Unconfirmed reports state this oddity is unable to clamp onto underwater Operators.

Trick and Treat: Jump Scares

It takes additional intestinal fortitude to drop into Call of Duty: Warzone combat when every lootable container across Al Mazrah or Vondead has the potential to set off an intense and visceral jump scare. Survive these horrifying hallucinations to claim the rewards contained within the container.

Expect additional (terrifying) surprises as The Haunting casts its shroud of fear across Call of Duty: Warzone 2 at midseason.

The Haunting Comes to Warzone 2's DMZ (Mid-Season)

Haunting in Warzone 2 DMZ (Image via Activision)

If your squad is ready to drop into Al Mazrah as part of Operation Nightmare, hone your DMZ talents before mid-season.

For Season 06, DMZ focuses on the nighttime hunts for preternatural entities across the warzone of Al Mazrah. Prep your team accordingly, as without the pressure of a collapsing circle of gas, DMZ is the ideal mode for obtaining intel on, tracking down, and finally neutralizing monstrous entities from beyond this world.

Players can look forward to all the Al Mazrah-related Events and other activities present within The Haunting, which will be coming to Warzone 2's DMZ.