The launch of Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 brought players to Urzikstan, a huge map for players to explore. To set this launch apart, we needed to prove that dropping into Urzikstan was unlike anything else.

Why take our word for it? To prove to players that this was an unmissable moment, we used the authenticity of influencer marketing and impactful production values to reach players with a resonant message: Dropping in has never been more exciting.

If we achieved our objective, we’d have Call of Duty players and broader audiences clamoring to get aboard the next dropship, strap on their own parachutes, and log into Call of Duty: Warzone themselves.

COD wanted players to feel the full intensity and thrill of dropping into the Warzone map that only COD can deliver.

So, instead of just dropping a new map, COD dropped real influencers into the new map. Yes, literally.

Our idea was to bring the visceral drop-in experience from in-game and pull it into an experience creators could actually jump into.

Four years after the launch of Warzone, players are accustomed to exciting gameplay updates. But the one thing that brings players back for hours on end is the thrill of dropping in.

Call of Duty is renowned for launching updates with glossy trailers, but we know that players are equally influenced by watching the reactions of their favorite streamers as they experience new game content.

Call of Duty wanted to show players that dropping into Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 was going to be an even bigger rush. So, to prove the authenticity of our claims, we invited influencers to drop into the new update IRL.

To showcase their reactions, we embraced short-form video best practices across the platforms where our players looked for creator-led content: TikTok and Instagram.

Edited to immediately catch viewer attention, these thumb-stopping experiences had players ready to join Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1.

We led influencers and fans into a wind tunnel for the Call of Duty drop-in experience of their lives.

Using massive, custom built (22 x 14 foot), wrap-around LED screens, and cinematic set dressing, attendees then got the opportunity to drop out of a military plane into a first-person thrill ride straight down into the beautifully designed Call of Duty: Warzone map, Urzikstan.

The whole experience was created in under 28 days, transforming an entire iFly indoor sky-diving facility into the world of Call Of Duty: Warzone.

“The Drop” instantly fueled players' excitement around the launch of Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 and the arrival of the Urzikstan map. With millions of views and hundreds of thousands of engagements across Call of Duty and influencer channels, it was the rush our players were looking for.

Bringing creators into a one-of-a-kind activation and sharing their authentic experiences with fans through social-first formats allowed us to reach the wider communities while keeping our core players engaged.