What we know about Call of Duty: Mobile Battle Royale

Be prepared to face off with up to 100 other combatants in this mixing pot of a game mode.

Activision is going all-in on its latest addition to the Call of Duty franchise. Called Call of Duty: Mobile it looks to be a fully-fledged Call of Duty game made specifically for mobile devices.

In their latest press release, Activision has released information on the huge Battle Royale experience coming bundled with Call of Duty: Mobile, so we thought we would lay it all out for you here.

What is a Battle Royale?

Battle Royale games are the latest craze in video games. You play in epic arenas, fighting up to 100 other players as you battle to be the last player standing. In most Battle Royale games you can play them solo, or in two, or four-player teams and you normally start the game by dropping into the map from above.

Games like Fortnite, PUBG, and Apex Legends, are the current huge Battle Royale games, and even Call of Duty Black Ops 4 has its own version called Blackout. CoD: Mobile's version of the Battle Royale mode will be very similar to these other games, but with a few unique differences.

Vehicles

Call of Duty: Mobile Battle Royale mode is going to big enough to have four different vehicle types. For a mobile game that's pretty impressive. I'm looking forward to seeing how well my phone handles 100 people in a server riding around in vehicles. I'm guessing it's going to get a little warm.

The four vehicle classes are:

ATV

Pretty straightforward. This is a two-person bike with very little armor and even less control. Only use these if you need to outrace the closing circle of doom. You are likely to be murdered to death in very short order otherwise.

Light Helicopter

Get to the chopper! Three people can get in this little flying death machine. If it's like most helicopters in these kins of games you are likely to be killed very quickly. You can use it to move all the way across the map easily and quickly though, so that makes up for the prospect of death.

SUV

This is the slower moving, but heavily armored vehicle in the game. Room enough for a full team of four, you will be relatively safe from normal gunfire, for a while anyway. Of course, CoD: Mobile does have rocket launchers, so maybe keep an eye out for them?

Tactical Raft

The fact that this is called a raft doesn't inspire much confidence. It's touted as a "fast boat" which is good, but they also mention to "watch out for snipers," which is bad. It's a toss up if the bad outweighs the good.

The map

The map is something of a mixture of old and new content. Activision is saying that the map has lots of unique areas, such as rivers, mesas, and hills but the really exciting part is the old content it is adding in. The developers have added the maps from the standard game modes — all those old maps from across the Call of Duty franchise — into the full map of the Battle Royale.

I'm excited to see how this will work. Will they just take the entire map and plonk it somewhere on the BR map? Unlikely, as Nuketown and it midwest U.S. surroundings don't really fit in the middle east environment of Crash. I think it's likely that they will take the most important parts of each map — the two house and bus in Nuketown, and the downed chopper and ruins in Crash — and try to make them fit into this large scale environment.

One of the maps they are using is Hijack, which takes place completely on a yacht, so that should be fun to get to in a Battle Royale setting!

Classes

Having different roles is one of my favorite things about Apex Legends and it looks like CoD: Mobile is going to use a similar system. Each class will have a special move, like the scorestreaks in the normal modes, as well as a perk that complements it. I'm going to give the list of classes to you exactly as they are written in Activision's press release so there are no misunderstandings.

• Defender: With the ability to place a deformable Transform Shield, this class also is Reinforced, raising resistance to all damage except bullets.

• Mechanic: Able to call an EMP Drone to create electromagnetic interference on hostile forces, this class also features the Engineer ability, granting augmented sight to vehicles, hostile traps, and other equipment.

• Scout: Utilizing the Sensor Dart that can view hostile positions in the immediate area of the radar map, this class also benefits from the Tracker ability; allowing you to see fresh footprints of hostiles.

• Clown: A master of distraction and friend of the undead, this class has a Toy Bomb to detonate, summoning zombies that only attack hostiles near to them; due in part to the Clown having the Anti-Zombie ability, which reduces the zombies' aggression distance.

• Medic: This class can place a Medical Station that continuously heals the Medic and associated allies in the immediate vicinity. In addition, the Master Healer ability allows a Medic to heal more quickly and reduces the time it takes to revive teammates.

• Ninja: Lastly, this clandestine class has a Grapple Gun that fires a hook, allowing you to propel yourself up and onto target buildings or across the landscape at speed. Movement is quiet too, due to this class having the Dead Silence ability.

As you can see each class has something to offer that can change the balance of power. I'm looking forward to being the Clown, and summoning zombies!

Did you just say zombies?

That's right, this Battle Royale has the added benefit (?) of zombie bots just to spice things up! Originally introduced in Black Ops 4: Blackout, having hordes of zombies roaming the map and swarming over the intermittent supply drops that occur, make for some intense action. Not only do you have to dodge 99 other human players but you also have to contend with zombies! It's such a good idea, and I am excited to see how all that plays out in a mobile setting.

Where and when can you play?

Call of Duty: Mobile is coming to iOS and Android in the coming months but you can sign up right now for a chance to play the beta when it comes to your region. Activision has said that the beta is currently in India, moving to Australia soon, but it's likely going to be a long time before we see it here in the U.S.

What to do until then

Until the beta is available in your country here are some other ways to scratch that itch.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

$35 at Amazon

Get the full Call of Duty experience with the latest game in the franchise. Black Ops 4 even includes a Battle Royale mode called Blackout. It is well worth a try.

Call of Duty playing cards

$9 at Amazon

Play some poker with your friends while you wait for the beta to drop. The CoD themed cards look awesome and you can imagine ghost hanging out playing with them.

Nuketown coffee mug

$12 at Amazon

Get fueled up before every session with this mug, emblazoned with the logo of my favorite map, Nuketown. I am so ready to play it again!