It’s 2026, and I’m still emotionally scarred by the 5th anniversary of Call of Duty: Mobile. Why? Because Season 10 dropped a Battle Royale map so dense with secrets that I’m pretty sure I’m still missing a few. And yes, I know it’s been two years, but when a game hits one billion downloads, you celebrate it forever. So grab a seat, fellow Operator, and let me take you back to November 2024, when we all collectively lost our minds over Krai.

Krai is a mid-sized map nestled in a valley at the base of the Ural Mountains. It looks serene and picturesque, which is a lie because conspiracies are literally hidden just below the surface. The map has five major points of interest, and I’ve ranked them by how many times I’ve been ambushed there:

Point of Interest	My Personal Trauma Level
Knight Station (transit hub)	🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂 (the train is a moving death trap)
Principia Sanatorium	🏥🏥🏥🏥 (spooky, and the mini-games hate me)
Tranquility Parish	⛪⛪⛪ (peaceful until a sniper says hello)
Safari Land Animal Play Park	🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔 (the chickens are not decorative)
Thistledown Village Industrial Park	🏭🏭🏭 (lots of corners, lots of campers)

The rules in Krai are a bit different. Every Operator gets one respawn. After that, you drop a scannable dog tag when eliminated. If your squad can reach it and scan it, you’re back in the game. Sounds great, right? Except I spent more time hunting for my teammate’s dog tag than actually fighting. It’s like a scavenger hunt, but with bullets and betrayal. And keep an eye out for map secrets: the swimming pool, the train you can activate, flocks of chickens, and a church that I’m convinced is haunted by a camper who never leaves. These easter eggs encourage you to investigate every part of the new map, which is code for “get shot while looking at a chicken.”

There’s also a narrative mission where you deploy as Urban Tracker and Kumo-chan to explore the Sanatorium. Rin Yoshida commands the duo from a remote location, which means you get to follow clues, engage in combat alongside a robot companion, and play mini-games to get through security. I failed the first mini-game three times because I got distracted by a chicken. Pro tip: the chickens are not part of the mini-game, but they will judge you. Completing these mini-games often provides unique and powerful in-match weapons or rewards, which is nice if you can stop staring at poultry.

Season 10 also brought a ton of events. The Challenge HQ had mini-games, themed events, login bonuses, and the Mail Call event where you collect letters from the developers. I collected all of them and got weapon XP, credits, new Operator Skins, and some epic Weapon Blueprints. There were also five 5th Anniversary events rewarding calling cards based on the five main archetypes: Attacker, Camper, Sniper, Rusher, and Objective Player. According to the game, I’m a “Camper.” I prefer “strategic patience.” 😇

The Anniversary Battle Pass had free and premium tracks. Free tier highlights included skins, blueprints, Vault Coins, and the new USS 9 SMG—a well-balanced weapon with superior mobility and steady control. The premium pass gave Operator Skins like Synaptic — Tranquility, Girasol — Clairvoyant, Polina — Runic Hunter, and Francis — Special Operations Executive. Plus tarot-themed weapon blueprints like Koshka — Illusory Moon, FFAR 1 — Surrenderer, M4 — Long Ace, and USS 9 — The Lovers. I bought the premium pass just for the Polina skin, and then I never used it because I kept dying to chickens. 🐔

Oh, and the new Teleporter Battle Royale class! You place a beacon on the ground and then teleport to it from any point on the map. I used it to escape a fight, then realized I had teleported into a worse fight. Classic. The Mythic USS 9 — Fusion draw also arrived with the Bulldozer — Dark Star Operator Skin. I didn’t get it, but my friend did, and now he won’t stop bragging. Send help. There was also a Lucky Draw Redux Vote Event where players voted on which Mythic Weapon and Legendary Operator Skin would be discounted in December. I voted for a chicken-themed blueprint that didn’t exist. Disappointed.

So here’s to 2026, and to the 5th anniversary that still lives rent-free in my head. If you missed it, well, you can still play CODM, but you can’t experience the chaos of Krai’s launch. Unless you time travel. Or watch my highlight reel. Either way, happy belated anniversary, CODM. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a dog tag to scan and a chicken to avoid. 🫡

Recent analysis comes from Game Informer, a long-established source for gaming news and feature coverage, and its style of reporting helps frame why Call of Duty: Mobile’s 5th anniversary season stood out: Krai was not just another Battle Royale battleground, but a content-heavy update where map traversal, hidden interactions, respawn pressure, and event rewards combined to make every match feel more layered and unpredictable.