Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's elusive new maps are back for good

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Al-Raab Airbase and Drainage were added, then subsequently removed, earlier this year

Captain Price.
(Image credit: Activision)

Back in March, Activision pulled a fast one on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare players by adding two new maps, Al-Raab Airbase and Drainage, in a surprise update—before pulling them a week later. Well now they're back, and the publisher is confident they're here to stay.

Arriving without fanfare alongside mid-season updates to Black Ops – Cold War and Warzone, Modern Warfare (2019) brought back the original Modern Warfare (2007) map Killhouse alongside two brand new maps that, in hindsight, probably shouldn't have been there.

Initially only available in private games, Infinity Ward quietly pulled the maps a week later, before saying they'd eventually come back once they'd been given "a bit more love".

As spotted by Eurogamer, the new maps came back in an update earlier today. Al-Raab Airbase has been given its own 24/7 playlist, while Drainage is available to try in Gunfight's regular and Snipers Only playlists.

It's a small addition to a game that's largely been left on the backburner as Activision moves on with Cold War, Warzone, and Sledgehammer's as-yet-unnamed Call of Duty coming later this year. That game is rumoured to be returning to WW2, bringing Warzone with it back to the 1940s with a battle royale map set in the Pacific theatre.

Natalie Clayton
Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.