The patch notes for Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone Season 1 are being released as new content launches

Together with the launch of the new season, Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software have introduced updated game features, available for a full view here.

This seasonal update has brought a multitude of new elements across the game's three primary modes - multiplayer, Warzone, and Zombies.

The update includes three entirely new 6v6 multiplayer maps, the return of Gunfight, All or Nothing, Infected, and Headquarters modes for multiplayer, as well as a new chapter and Dark Aether Rifts for the Zombies mode.

The main change in Warzone is the new map, Urzikstan, featuring 11 major points of interest and is 20% smaller than Al Mazrah, the Warzone map from Modern Warfare 2 released last year.

Despite the free-to-play battle royale game supporting 150-player modes since its launch in March 2020, Raven confirmed this week that Urzikstan reduces the player count by a third.

"Our top priority is creating an optimal and engaging experience for all our players based on critical metrics," the statement reads.

"These metrics include time-to-action, Urzikstan's map size, new circle timings and sizes, total match time (20 minutes), red dots, contracts, and various new and existing second chance mechanics.

"We believe we've found the right balance to offer multiple phases, starting with fair in-game activities and looting, healthy mid-game engagements, and an epic climax where the best players emerge victorious."

In addition to numerous bug fixes and weapon balancing, Season 1 also introduces new weapons and Killstreaks, a Battle Pass with 100 tiers of content, festive and themed maps and events, as well as the ranked multiplayer mode, Ranked Play.