Call of Duty's The Haunting Season 6: Release Time, Modes, and Rewards

Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone’s Season 5 did not simply end; it folded shut like a coffin lid, clearing the stage for The Haunting Season 6. Activision made sure nobody had to squint through fog for the date: the event launched on September 18 at 9 AM PT across all platforms, with pre-downloads available in the days leading up to release.

For players keeping an eye on the clock, the launch translated into several time zones:

Region	Release Time
Pacific Time	9:00 AM PT
Eastern Time	12:00 PM ET
United Kingdom	5:00 PM BST
Central Europe	6:00 PM CEST
Japan	1:00 AM JST on September 19

Multiplayer: A carnival of chaos

The Drive Thru 6v6 map headlined the Core Multiplayer additions, accompanied by one variant for Meat and an almost absurd five variants for Shipment. If Shipment is not remixed into a haunted snow globe at least five times, is the season even trying? Returning playlists such as Arcade sneered at the ordinary rules of physics. Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Hardpoint showed up as expected, but Arcade also granted increased jump height and a ground slam attack. The super-buffed explosive MORS Sniper Rifle behaved less like a firearm and more like a firework that had read the building code and decided to ignore it.

The mode menu grew fangs as well. Mutation returned, a twisted version of Infected joined the lineup, and Hordepoint debuted, forcing players to defend against waves of the undead in a Hardpoint-inspired fight. Hordepoint is the type of mode that turns a simple objective into a séance with very poor table manners.

Warzone: Purgatory and the pitch-black canals

Warzone received two horror-drenched map variants: Hellspawn and Vondel Night. Hellspawn transformed Rebirth Island into a tentacle-infested hellscape, as if a kraken had decided to nap beneath the island’s foundation. Vondel Night, on the other hand, plunged players into nearly pitch-black streets, like someone had wrapped the entire map in blackout curtain fabric and forgotten to cut eyeholes.

Two modes slithered in alongside these maps. Purgatory, an original mode set on Hellspawn, let players use Custom Loadouts to fight enemies, complete objectives, and respawn after elimination. Zombie Royale returned to both Vondel Night and Hellspawn. Under its standard Battle Royale rules, eliminated players came back as zombies, hunting survivors or looting syringes to reclaim their place among the living. If a player was eliminated as a zombie, they had to spectate teammates or return to the lobby in solo playlists.

Warzone Mobile, Battle Pass, and MWZ changes

Warzone Mobile players were not left shivering outside the haunted house. They gained access to Zombie Royale, the Hardhat 6v6 map, and event rewards earned by accumulating event points in selected playlists.

Both Multiplayer and Warzone shared a new Battle Pass that included two weapons: the DTIR 30-06 and the Kastov LSW. Halloween-themed cosmetics joined the parade, including the Michael Myers Operator, because a slow-walking horror icon in a Battle Pass is basically a marketing guarantee with a kitchen knife. New Aftermarket Parts also arrived each week, giving loadout tinkerers fresh reasons to revisit their builds.

Modern Warfare Zombies received only two updates: halved cooldown timers for all Schematics and the ability to enter Dark Aether Rifts without a Sigil. For Zombies fans, that might have felt like receiving a single candy corn while Warzone ran off with the whole trick-or-treat bag. Still, Black Ops 6 Zombies loomed on the horizon with an October 25 launch, promising far more undead mayhem.

By the time the 2026 Halloween season starts winding up, The Haunting Season 6 remains a useful case study in how Call of Duty turns its annual event into a cross-mode carnival rather than a single haunted house.