Call of Duty: Warzone gets the powerful new CARV.2 tactical rifle today

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
(Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops Cold War are getting a brand new tactical rifle later today.

The new weapon, as you can see below through the announcement from the official Treyarch Twitter account, is called the CARV.2, and it's arriving in both Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops Cold War later today on May 6. In a new blog post, developer Treyarch writes that the CARV.2 is a burst-fire weapon, adding that it "stands out in the tactical rifle class with its high bullet velocity output, offering powerful damage, solid recoil control, and a large ammo pool from the start."

That sounds like it could spell a big shake-up for the current Warzone and Black Ops Cold War metas. If you've been unfamiliar with the ongoing meta surrounding the former game in particular, the AUG and FFAR 1 have both been dominating the game recently, and even after they were both the subject of a relatively recent nerf, players still feel like they're pretty overpowered.

When the CARV.2 launches later today for both games, it'll be available either through in-game challenges, or through the in-game store for COD Points. This isn't the first time we've seen a new weapon added to both games in a similar fashion, as the ZRG 20mm sniper rifle was introduced to the ongoing Season 3 weapon pool last month in April, and was available via either challenges or a store purchase.

The CARV.2 is certain to be an interesting addition to both Warzone and Black Ops Cold War. Having a pretty fast firing rate, along with powerful stopping damage and a solid ammo capacity, it sounds like it'll spell big trouble for players facing off against it in medium ranges on Warzone's Verdansk 84 map in particular. Here's hoping there isn't another dominant meta on the cusp of forming.

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Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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