Call of Duty: Warzone doesn't require PS Plus, but Xbox One owners aren't as lucky

By Eric Abent/March 10, 2020 10:01 am EST

It's a pretty big day for Call of Duty fans, as Activision is launching a new battle royale title called Warzone. The game was officially revealed yesterday, and instead of requiring a copy of Modern Warfare to play, Activision is making it free-to-play for everyone. When it comes to consoles and free-to-play games, there's always a question of whether or not you'll need to have an active subscription to your platform's online service in order to play, and for Warzone, it turns out that the answer depends on which console you own.

Speaking to IGN, Activision confirmed that Warzone won't require a subscription to PlayStation Plus to play. Unfortunately, the game does require an Xbox Live Gold subscription if you're playing on Xbox One. Activision didn't explain why this is the case, but regardless, Xbox One players will likely feel that they're getting the short end of the stick here.

On PlayStation 4, those who are subscribed to PlayStation Plus and download the game will get the Warzone Combat Pack, an add on that isn't available on Xbox One. That makes the rift between the platforms even greater, so if you own both consoles, PlayStation 4 is probably the one you want to play Warzone on.

In truth, anyone who owns an Xbox One or a PlayStation 4 and does any kind of multiplayer gaming probably already has either an active PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold membership, so the differences between these two platforms isn't likely to be a deciding factor for many. Still, it is disappointing that PlayStation 4 owners don't have to shell out for PS Plus while Xbox One owners need to pay for Xbox Live Gold before they can get to playing.

In any case, Warzone was revealed yesterday as a new free-to-play title that supports 150-player battle royale matches. Warzone will go live at 8 AM PDT for those who own a copy of Modern Warfare before launching at 12 PM PDT for everyone else. The game will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Battle.net.