Call of Duty: Warzone is making a big push towards the end of its second season since integrating Black Ops Cold War content. The in-game store has been refreshed, a new weapon is changing the meta, and hype is growing for the map change coming to Verdansk. One of the changes brought about in this week's update is the addition of radiation zones in parts of the Warzone map. These zones turn players into zombies if players stay too long, which makes this very similar to the Haunting of Verdansk event from last year. There is a difference though, and it is leaving some Warzone fans a little annoyed.
The Haunting of Verdansk was a limited-time event in Warzone that lasted for a month around Halloween and turned the lights off on the BR map. Setting the game at night, the mode played very different from the normal battle royale. Players armed themselves with thermal scopes to see targets in the dead of night, and had to avoid the hordes of zombies infesting Verdansk. If the event was too spooky for some players, there was always the option to head back into the daylight and play the standard BR mode.
No Escape From the Zombies!
The big flaw here is just that the only way to currently play Call of Duty: Warzone is with the zombies in tow. While this may not actually affect every game quite the same way as the night mode, there are plenty of fans who don't want zombies anywhere near their BR experience. Between the zombie-infested area of the map (currently the Dam), and the new radiation zones, there is now more to think about that distracts from the core game mode that Call of Duty has established over the last year. While players could simply ignore the Haunting of Verdansk limited-time event and still play the core game with no zombie interference, there is no option this time around.
The Call of Duty: Warzone community is vocal about the game, frequently listing off a litany of perceived problems with the game. The hashtag #FixWarzone was started to show support for changes many in the community deem necessary for the game to remain successful. From the Roze operator skin being impossible to see and the overpowered guns everyone is seemingly forced to use to the cheaters that decimate lobbies, fans let Activision, Treyarch, and Raven Software hear about the issues they have with the game. This lead up to the nuke event is generating ire, though perhaps not quite to the same level as some of the other issues. Not being able to play the standard battle royale mode in the last week before the map is altered is annoying for some players.
How Else Do They Bring In A New Map?
The counterpoint to the complaints about zombies invading Verdansk would be how else are players supposed to experience the story leading up to the coming nuke event? While some might say they are not concerned with any kind of narrative in Warzone, if the zombie narrative was only part of the limited time event, separate from the core BR gameplay, then the sudden nuking of Verdansk wouldn't make a lot of sense. By making it part of the core battle royale mode, players are all part of this creeping infection of zombie hordes. The idea is to have the entire player base on board with the narrative that Verdansk becomes so overrun by the undead that something drastic has to be done.
By making it part of the core battle royale experience in Warzone, it builds more anticipation for the new (old) Verdansk to come. And while the nuke event in Warzone might not live up to the hype, it is the first major attempt at a narrative that shakes the core game in the same way that a game like Fortnite does with its big updates. This is likely why it is unavoidable, as the developer likely wants players to be on the same page.
With only a week until Season 2 is over, and with the nuke event scheduled to kick off right away, fans won't have to wait (or suffer) too long before the zombies will be wiped off the map. Fans may be a little discouraged that the coming changes won't be as full-scale as once thought, with no chance that a remastered COD: Blackout map will make an appearance. A lot is riding on this big event, and fans will just have to wait and see what is in store on April 21st.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.