Xbox and Activision's massively popular free-to-play battle royale shooter Call of Duty: Warzone is about to get one of its most highly anticipated additions with Black Ops Royale, a no-loadout mode heavily inspired by the Blackout mode from Black Ops 4. It's the biggest piece of content in Season 2: Reloaded, and it's only hours away from its global release.
What should be a time of feverish excitement and anticipation, however, has quickly become mired in controversy after the Call of Duty team announced that next week, it plans to test having bots play alongside players in Black Ops Royale lobbies in Europe and the Middle East.
This is similar to the Casual mode currently available for the standard Call of Duty: Warzone battle royale experience, which makes the majority of a match's occupants AI-controlled bots and only features a small amount of actual players.
"Over the past year, we’ve learned a lot from introducing bots through Casual experiences across Battle Royale and Resurgence. Those modes helped us better understand how to deliver the best gameplay experience in Call of Duty: Warzone across the player population," wrote the developers. "With the launch of Black Ops Royale in Season 02 Reloaded, we’re continuing to build on those learnings with a regional matchmaking test in the new mode."
The devs say "We will, as always, gauge success based on player data and player feedback" as and after the tests run, and also noted that the current Casual playlist for Warzone won't be available while bots are being tested in Black Ops Royale.
📢 Call of Duty: #Warzone Over the past year, we’ve learned a lot from introducing bots through Casual experiences across Battle Royale and Resurgence.Those modes helped us better understand how to deliver the best gameplay experience in Call of Duty: Warzone across the…March 12, 2026
Since the option to play the Casual versions of Warzone attracts those who may not be very skilled at PvP or simply want a less stressful gameplay experience, the Call of Duty team likely wants to offer something similar with the new Black Ops Royale mode. However, the fact that bots are being tested in regular matches instead of in a separate playlist has angered many in the community.
At the time of writing, the post in which the developers announced their testing plans has been "ratioed" with a higher number of comments than likes, and the vast majority of them are harshly criticizing the upcoming test.
"PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TAKE BOTS OUT THANK YOU," wrote TimTheTatman, one of the biggest streamers on Twitch. "The Warzone scene is cooked if/when this gets pushed to the entire game in all regions," said another content creator worried that this will be a slippery slope.
"Being forced to play against bots in a (previously) pure PvP environment takes so much away from the experience. Opting in to play with bots (casuals mode) is fine but forcing it is a big L," he continued.
Lots of competitive-minded players have rallied behind all of Warzone's big content creators complaining about the bot testing, and some even argue that the presence of any Casual-like offerings at all dilutes the experience and problematically splits up the player base. Others, though, assert that a Casual experience with bots is good for the game, and ensures everyone has a version of the game they'll enjoy.
Ultimately, I think making a Casual version of Black Ops Royale and keeping bots out of regular matches as the devs did with normal Warzone would be the best idea, so hopefully that's what Activision does after these tests run. Still, not testing bots in a separate playlist is a bold choice, and has stirred up quite a storm ahead of Black Ops Royale's launch.
🗨️ Do bots have a place in Black Ops Royale?
With many different Call of Duty fans weighing in, I'm curious to hear from you. Do bots have a place in Warzone's new Black Ops Royale mode, either in a separate Casual playlist or as part of the core experience?
Share your thoughts in the comments below, and make sure to vote in our poll:
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