The first Call of Duty: Warzone launched at the perfect moment in time. Releasing on March 10, 2020, Call of Duty: Warzone dropped right as the global pandemic was starting to bring lockdowns into effect. While this was obviously a terrifying time for everyone, it did mean that many were now trapped inside their homes and desperate for entertainment, and a free-to-play Call of Duty battle royale game filled that time nicely. For its first few months, Call of Duty: Warzone was one of the most popular games on the planet, easily standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Fortnite and Apex Legends, two juggernauts in the free-to-play arena.
But all good things must come to an end. Activision Blizzard has just announced that the first Call of Duty: Warzone, rebranded a few months ago as Warzone: Caldera, will be shutting down on September 21 of this year. While this decision does make sense, with Call of Duty: Warzone 2 stealing a great deal of its predecessor's thunder, it may end up setting a worrying precedent for the future of Warzone.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2's Days Could Be Numbered
Call of Duty: Warzone had a pretty solid run. Over the last three years, the first Warzone had seen a number of changes and updates, some of which drastically changed the map. Fans quickly fell in love with Warzone's original Verdansk map, and Verdansk '84 gave it a fun throwback makeover to align with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's release. And while Caldera proved controversial until the very end, it'll likely be remembered fondly by those who have played it in years to come, as is the case with many Call of Duty maps.
But since Call of Duty: Warzone 2's release back in November 2022, the original Warzone has been relegated to an obvious afterthought over at Activision. After a brief hiatus, Call of Duty: Warzone's servers came back online toward the end of November, and the game was rebranded as Call of Duty: Warzrone Caldera. Optimistic fans hoped that this name change was a hint that Verdansk would be brought back as well, but that seems to have just been a pipe dream looking back now.
Instead, Activision is shutting the servers down for Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera in September, meaning that every second of players' progress will be scrapped, including any skins or cosmetics they unlocked or bought along the way. While players will still be able to use their purchased skins in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War, and Vanguard, that isn't really an option for those that only had Warzone. But Activision's reasons make sense. It's only natural that both publishers and developers would want to focus all of their efforts on the new and exciting Call of Duty: Warzone 2, along with its mobile port coming later this year, even if this could start an ugly cycle.
With Call of Duty: Warzone shutting down in favor of the newest iteration, it sets the precedent that this could happen again in the future. Though Warzone 2 will probably stick around for a while, its architecture isn't going to last forever, and eventually, future generations of Call of Duty will want a Warzone mode that can keep up with their technological advancements. So, it's more than likely that in another 3-5 years' time, a Warzone 3 will replace the current model, once again scrapping all the skins and progress players have made and repeating the cycle. That is, if Call of Duty: Warzone remains popular for that long.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
