Call of Duty: Warzone is gearing up for its big nuke event, expected to wipe out the existing battle royale map and replace it with an 1980s version of Verdansk. The in-universe reason why Call of Duty: Warzone's battle royale map is getting destroyed is because of toxic radiation spreading throughout that's transforming players into zombies. And that radiation can now be found at three separate locations on the map.
Call of Duty: Warzone's radiation is spreading across the map. Originally, the radiation impacted the Prison and Shipwreck locations, but now it has expanded to include Hospital as well. Anyone that happens to die in the radiation will be turned into a zombie, not unlike the Call of Duty: Warzone Halloween event from last year. Based on the pattern established so far, it's highly likely that more areas of the Warzone map will be covered in radiation in the days ahead.
This is all leading up to the big Call of Duty: Warzone nuke event, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, April 21 at 12pm PT. While Activision hasn't detailed exactly what's going to happen, the general consensus is that the existing Warzone battle royale map is going to be wiped out and replaced through an in-game event, not unlike other battle royale games like Fortnite.
However, it remains to be seen how Call of Duty: Warzone fans will react to the radiation taking over more parts of the battle royale map. This will essentially make these areas more or less off limits to players, unless they want to deal with the radiation and the risk of being turned into a zombie. This means that Call of Duty: Warzone players can't properly enjoy the original version of Verdansk before it's replaced by the 1980s version - a change that could literally last forever.
Future Call of Duty: Warzone maps may not replace the existing ones, however. As was the case with the Rebirth Island map, there are rumors that Call of Duty: Warzone will be getting a World War 2 map at some point in 2022 that will be a standalone thing instead of a replacement for the existing map. This approach has its own pros and cons, but regardless, it's clear that Call of Duty: Warzone fans have plenty of new content to look forward to in the months and years ahead.
Call of Duty: Warzone's incredible popularity means the battle royale is here to stay, though it's possible it won't become fully integrated with each new Call of Duty game. Call of Duty: Warzone's integration with Black Ops Cold War has caused some backlash from the community, and some insiders have said that this is why the leaked Call of Duty: Vanguard game may skip Warzone integration. However, that's just speculation at this time, and like with anything else, fans should wait for an official announcement to be sure.
Call of Duty: Warzone is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.