Call of Duty: Warzone's new surprise pistol is terrifying

(Image credit: Activision)

As has become something of a habit in Call of Duty: Warzone as of late, a new weapon has been added to the game without notice from Activision. But unlike the relatively harmless Shadowhunter crossbow, today's new Sykov pistol is very good at killing.

By default, the Sykov looks and feels like any other pistol in Warzone, but it has a handful of attachments that could make it an overpowered beast. Once leveled, the Sykov can be configured to fire full-auto, equip 80-round drum magazines, and be dual-wielded to double up firepower. If you're keeping count, that's 160 bullets at an extremely high fire rate without having to reload.

Via BennyCentral on YouTube

Despite initial reports from players having trouble unlocking and leveling up the Sykov, its release today was apparently intentional. Raven announced in a tweet today that progression should now be tracked on the gun "as intended," so I guess it's the real deal.

Warzone players might recognize the akimbo pistol strategy from the Diamatti pistols that were very popular earlier this year. The rapid-fire pistols were similarly destructive at close range until Activision eventually nerfed their hipfire accuracy. With 80-round drum mags and seemingly no problem hitting their mark, a pair of Sykov pistols could prove even better than the Diamattis at their peak.

Call of Duty Youtuber TheXclusiveAce has already released an initial dive into the Sykov's stats. Ace is among the most levelheaded and analytical voices in the CoD community, and even he is worried that the pistol will be overpowered once it's fully unleashed. "At this point, it does have me concerned." Me too.

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.