Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 is arguably the biggest update the battle royale game has ever seen. While it is adding a lot to the game, the new map Caldera is easily the most exciting addition - though Call of Duty: Warzone fans have gotten some conflicting looks at its design.
Caldera will release on December 8, taking players to a Pacific Island where the amount of buildings will be limited - though a large resort and a theater do feature. The map will include rivers and huts alongside dogfighting, with the planes never being seen prior to Caldera’s debut. However, those flying in the sky and fighting down below could have a bit less space in certain areas than they originally expected, as the map’s design seems to have changed during development.
Through the Secrets of the Pacific event, players have received another look at Caldera. However, as shown by @ModernWarzone, the original map layout is a bit different from Caldera’s final design. In the Secrets of the Pacific art, Caldera has massive rivers moving inland from three points in the center of the map. It also has a unique pointed shape in the top left corner. However, the final version seems to be trimmed down a bit, with the rivers shortened significantly and the Northwest corner of the map removed. The Western side of the map also seems smaller, as part of the island that was jutting out is gone.
Because of these significant changes, @ModernWarzone believes that the island could have been reduced in size during development. While this is possible, its shape may have simply changed, with Raven Software keeping the scale intact but cleaning up the island so that its overall shape is easier on the eyes. From the two images, it is impossible to tell if Call of Duty: Warzone fans will be seeing a smaller map than initially expected, but what is clear is that its layout will be different.
Even if Caldera does end up being a bit smaller, it is still going to be a massive map that is on par with Verdansk in terms of its size. Further, there is a chance that a slightly smaller map could play better, with long periods of downtime where players are running around looking for enemies being shortened. Regardless of its new look, Caldera looks like an interesting location with some memorable points of interest like a volcano and a submarine base.
With the Ricochet anti-cheat system dropping alongside Caldera, as well as integration with Call of Duty: Vanguard, there is plenty to be excited about come Season 1. No matter what shape it ends up having, hopefully Caldera lives up to expectations.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.