Warzone devs backtrack on controversial feature slated to launch with Season One Reloaded 

Call of Duty: Warzone’s upcoming Covert Exfil feature will no longer be coming with Season One Reloaded next week, Raven Software has confirmed.

The controversial new gameplay feature was met with criticism nearly across the board when it was announced earlier this week. Raven said today that it heard the reaction loud and clear, so much so that it’s backing off of plans.

“Over the last few days, we’ve seen your feedback about the Covert Exfil feature and have decided not to launch it in standard Battle Royale with Season One Reloaded next week,” the developer said in a Jan. 12 post on Twitter/X.

Covert Exfil is being described as a “secondary win condition” where players can pool their funds to purchase a highly-priced chopper that will fly any player out of the match to allow them escape early, ideally with a new item called a Weapons Case.

The Weapon Case was set to spawn once in every match. The player carrying it would be marked on the map for all players to see, and allow those who won the game or extracted in a Covert Exfil to earn “exclusive rewards.”

“We believe that Covert Exfil and the gameplay loop it provides, paired with the Weapons Case, will make for an exciting addition to Warzone,” Raven said. “That said, we’ll instead launch both of these features in an upcoming dedicated mode. We’re looking forward to the new challenges that these features will provide and to your continued feedback once the mode is available.”

Inserting the new feature into its own mode is a good compromise for those who may want to see how it actually feels in the game, as opposed to forcing it into regular battle royale modes out of the gates.

Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone’s Season One Reloaded update will launch next week on Jan. 17.