2020 will be an interesting year for Call of Duty, for a number of reasons. Plenty of rumors and leaks about this year's entry involve tons of conflicting information about what's next for the franchise. Whether it's going to be based on the Cold War, or even part of the Black Ops series altogether, has been up for debate the last few months. Some rumors have pointed a future battle royale title/mode coming in the franchise's future, but that poses a problem for Call of Duty: Warzone.
Considering Warzone's massive popularity since release, it's very unlikely Infinity Ward will end support for the battle royale just a year out. Battle royale games like Fortnite have proven that long-term support can prove fruitful, so Warzone shouldn't go away anytime soon. That being said, with a new Call of Duty game on the horizon for 2020, many are wondering if this game will get a battle royale as well. What does that mean for Warzone's future if another battle royale comes out a year later? Due to the possibility of conflict, there's a few ways Warzone could be shaped and changed by 2020's mainline Call of Duty title.
A Possible Black Ops Tease
Several corroborated rumors and leaks have confirmed that there's some kind of Cold War/Black Ops tie-in coming to Warzone in the near future. Warzone initially planned for this crossover/meta-game ahead of time, with the placement of closed off bunkers all across the Verdansk battle royale map. With the last few updates there's been an entire meta-narrative and quest added for these bunkers, which became publicly accessible as of the beginning of last week. Every bunker has tons of rare weapons and powerful equipment within them that players can find, and occasionally an interesting telephone message in Russian.
Listening to the message in-game unlocks the quest to open the eleventh bunker, the biggest one in Verdansk in the north-most sector. Within bunker 11 is not only new loot and the Mud Dauber SMG blueprint, but there's also some interesting extensions to the bunker 11 quest. Upon entering the bunker, players can reboot the computer systems which initiates a countdown. At the moment the countdown constantly loops from 10-2 and back without ending, and despite a "shiny red button" in another room, there's no way of stopping the countdown. The only thing players can find is a nuclear warhead in a smoke-filled room after hitting that button, and for now that's it.
Subliminal Advertising
From the perspective of Warzone, these updates seem to be preparing the game's first big live event. But if this new nuke-related meta-game really is a Black Ops tie-in related to 2020's Call of Duty, it brings Warzone's longevity into question. Many of the rumors/leaks associated with this Warzone meta-game seem to be connecting the bunkers with the 2020 Call of Duty title, which is presumably another numbered entry in the Black Ops sub-series. If that's true, then the subliminal advertisement in this meta-game might not be a good look for Warzone's future.
Plenty of other battle royales as popular as Warzone have stuck around longer than a few months, but for Warzone's first big live event to be tied to the next Call of Duty game wouldn't bode well. Sure, it's an effective way to get fans excited for the next game in the long-running franchise, but it's hurtful for Warzone's fanbase. Does it mean the highly popular mode is going to be replaced by another Warzone in 2020/2021? Even if that's not true, there's clearly a message being sent to fans when the first event for Warzone is allegedly a tie-in for the next mainline Call of Duty game.
Potentially Damaging for Warzone's Playerbase
That being said, none of this has been confirmed, especially when this Warzone event hasn't even been completed yet. Infinity Ward continuously updates Warzone, so it's clear there's dedicated support for the battle royale for now. Even if this reported Black Ops tie-in is just a teaser to the next game, there's a possibility support for Modern Warfare and especially Warzone may taper off faster than any other massively popular battle royale to date. Especially with rumors of another Call of Duty battle royale coming in 2020/2021, it'd be a shame if Warzone starts directly competing with the same franchise that sparked its massive popularity.
Assuming the next Call of Duty game is a Black Ops entry based in the Cold War, Warzone will still remain popular if the games are conceptually different. Even if the next Call of Duty does have a battle royale, differing time periods means a completely different loot pool and likely a completely different map. Warzone has more of a chance to maintain its own identity so long as the two games aren't too similar to each other. But if a new battle royale is in development for 2020's Call of Duty, the franchise runs the risk of compromising itself and killing any momentum Warzone has.
We'll just have to wait and see what's in store for 2020's Call of Duty, and if there's a battle royale coming with it. Warzone currently has a huge player base and the support behind it is actively working to make that experience better. It'd be a shame for another Call of Duty game to eclipse that momentum just when things were taking off.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.