Call of Duty: Warzone has been around for several months, but due to its seasonal rotation, it feels much longer. Since its initial release, a ton of content has been added, and it is definitely not the same game that it once was. With Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War recently merging with Call of Duty: Warzone, the game is continuing a path of evolution into the unknown.
With 2020 over, many players are wondering what content could be headed to Call of Duty: Warzone over the next year. The integration is a massive step for the community as this is one of the first games to really continue past its initial release. Call of Duty: Warzone can expect several changes in the future, and the integration with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will most likely guide it for the majority of the year.
Player expectations for the next year of Call of Duty: Warzone are high. As of now, the game is a rather highly-regarded battle royale experience rising easily to the height and popularity of Fornite and Apex Legends. For it to maintain that position, the game needs to continue its forward momentum and ensure that its dedicated fan-base will follow until its very last update.
New Maps or Map Changes
Rumors of new maps fly around almost every other month for Call of Duty: Warzone. Although fans were able to effectively predict the coming of Rebirth Island, there is still the rumor of a mountainous snow zone coming to the game. Footage of Call of Duty: Warzone has been mixed with pieces of the Ural Mountains as many fans predict that the conflict could be moving north.
Even if the map is not changing completely, fans will most likely see another massive change to the Call of Duty: Warzone world of Verdansk. Nuclear missiles lie under the city, seasons could easily change and melt the ice lake, and recent leaks suggest that a whole new building might be finished and added to the map.
It is more likely that Call of Duty: Warzone will gain new features rather than a completely new map. There are tiny details scattered across the entire area that suggest a massive change is coming, and with the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War storyline continuing with the seasons, the conflict may be sooner than fans expect.
Continued Battle Pass Support
The one guarantee that Call of Duty: Warzone has given its community is continued battle pass support. Until the integration, all predictions said that Call of Duty: Warzone would have to go dormant with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Once the integration happened, Call of Duty: Warzone found itself with a second life and a longer existence as the battle pass count reset to one promising at least another year of life.
With the two games tying progression so closely, the battle pass will most likely continue to support Call of Duty: Warzone. There is a high chance that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will either be absorbed by Call of Duty: Warzone or passed over for Call of Duty 2021. Either case, Warzone will continue to thrive as long as the developers are catering to both audiences.
With the success seen from the Season 1 content thus far, Call of Duty: Warzone may not have anything to worry about for several seasons to come. Still, if the game does not perform to the expected standard, Activision may decide to stop support and doom Call of Duty: Warzone to its originally destined fate.
Weapon Rebalancing in Warzone
The biggest change coming in the immediate future is a weapon rebalance for major weapons within the game. With Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War adding its entire armory to the game, there will inevitably be even more conflicts of quality between the old weapons and new. Call of Duty: Warzone has already suffered under the meta of the DMR and MAC-10, both weapons only appearing after the start of Season 1.
With continued battle pass support comes the essential need for weapon rebalancing almost constantly. Call of Duty: Warzone's meta will continue to shift, and new weapons introduced will no doubt float to the top and cause chaos among the game's inherent balance. While the development companies do their best to nerf and buff guns accordingly, the future weapons will continue to serve as a problem due to improper testing and a misunderstanding of player potential.
Still, new weapons can always shake up things in Call of Duty: Warzone, and players can at least look forward to a future without the DMR. Call of Duty: Warzone will no doubt see several more powerful weapons, and it will be up to the community to evaluate its potential and create the deadliest loadouts imaginable.
Call of Duty Game Integrations
With the initial success of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's integration, there is a chance that Call of Duty 2021 continues the trend. Call of Duty: Warzone has the potential to continue its growth, and as long as the community supports it, Activision has reason to keep it around. The initial integration was bordering revolutionary as it is one of the first games that Activision has continued on in such a direct method.
Still, a lot of this depends on what Call of Duty 2021 ends up being. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War are set years apart, which give hope that the next game may transfer in as easily as this one did. If it does end up integrating the Call of Duty: Warzone, then that is a future of content that goes beyond the scope of 2021, not to mention a massive change in business models for Activision.
Call of Duty: Warzone is malleable, and the existence and longevity of Fortnite attest to the continued popularity of the battle royale genre. As long as Activision continues its support of the game, and the community continues to present feedback to the development companies, then Call of Duty: Warzone may outlive 2021 and see a bright future this time next year.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available on PC and console platforms.
