The new Warzone has arrived, and we’re looking at native apps for the latest generation of consoles. The DF team combined for simultaneous crossplay testing.
Warzone 2.0 has arrived and like its predecessor, this free-to-play game is big in almost every sense of the word, with an expansive map inhabited by a massive playerbase. The game’s based on the IW9 Engine, the same core technology that serves as the foundation for Modern Warfare 2, but here it’s pushed to its limits to draw in a single huge environment while networking up to 150 players.
To put this latest battle royale to the test, the whole DF team combined forces to get simultaneous crossplay capture of each console – starting with PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S. How do each of these platforms stack up visually, what’s performance like in the standard modes and how does the 120fps experience hold up for those with high refresh rate displays?
Before we get into the numbers, let’s talk about what makes this game so challenging to play – and to run, even on powerful games consoles. As a battle royale, it’s all about the giant new map. Al Mazrah is truly colossal, a joint production between multiple Activision studios that ranks as the biggest battlefield in the series’ history. Tiny portions of Al Mazrah appeared in MW2’s 6v6 and 12v12 modes already but the field of play also includes classic maps from 2007’s Modern Warfare and 2009’s Modern Warfare 2. It’s a beautiful sight for long-time COD fans, and the map also adds new mechanics like boats and aquatic combat.
So how best to get a sense of performance and visual fidelity on each platform? Well, a multiplayer-focused battle royale isn’t a natural fit for traditional benchmarking, so we set up a squad and used the game’s spectator mode to get frame-perfect comparisons between PS5, Series X and Series S. (In terms of settings, we’re using an FOV of 80°, with film grain and world/weapon blur disabled.) Put in comparison this way, all three machines have different resolution targets, graphics settings and frame-rates at 60fps or 120fps – and the results hold some surprises.
Let’s start with the milkshake that brings all the fans to the yard: PS5 versus Series X. The two machines are identical in terms of settings, including resolution, shadows, textures and foliage density.
