Call of Duty: Warzone fans are understandably excited about Season 1. December 2 will be the start of a new era for the battle royale game, with several major additions being made. The Ricochet anti-cheat system will finally be added, while integration with Call of Duty: Vanguard means that a fresh batch of Operators and weapons will be added to shake up the meta. New vehicles like planes and AA guns will be introduced, and most importantly of all, a new map will debut.
Based on what has been said and shown thus far, Call of Duty: Warzone fans have good reason to be optimistic about Caldera. The map has been in development for two years, with community feedback about Verdansk being taken into consideration during the design phase. The map looks great, too, as the visuals provided for the Pacific island are much more eye-catching than those that were seen in the previous map. However, Caldera is not being added alongside Verdansk, as it is instead replacing it entirely - and that is a big risk on the part of Activision and Raven Software.
Some Call of Duty: Warzone Players May Not Want Change
Call of Duty: Warzone players have been fighting in the fictional country of Verdansk for years, and many have learned the ins and outs of the map in that time. Casual and veteran players alike have mastered the basic layout, determining where fights are likely to happen and where they can go to avoid them. Strategies have been created, with players sticking to certain paths and finding approaches that suit them best. Vehicle spawns have been learned, too.
When Verdansk goes away, all that knowledge will be lost. This is a big deal for players who only have time to hop into Call of Duty: Warzone a few times a week, as that map knowledge ensures they can always put up a fight. For the past year and a half, gamers have known what they are getting into with Call of Duty: Warzone, being able to have a general understanding of how the match will play out regardless of what playlist they are in or what the current meta may be. As such, removing that advantage could frustrate some gamers.
Another thing worth considering is the fact that some players will simply prefer the setting of Verdansk. Not everyone will be interested in fighting in caves, on mountains, and through villages, with some enjoying the look and feel of a massive city or a soccer stadium much more. This divide shows clearly with a game like Call of Duty: Vanguard. While some people are thrilled to be getting another World War 2 Call of Duty game, others have no interest in the older setting. As such, some may not find Caldera appealing, wishing that Verdansk was given another rework instead.
Caldera Being Poorly Received Could Be Devastating For Call of Duty: Warzone
However, what makes the removal of Verdansk particularly dangerous is the possibility that the map turns out to be a disappointment. If Caldera is an objectively bad map with poor design, annoying power positions, and odd lines of sight, players could be stuck playing something that they might not enjoy. They will not have the option to switch back to Verdansk, a map they already know and love, as they will instead have to stick to playing on a new map that is less fun than what came before.
Activision and Raven betting on Caldera being great is a good sign for the map’s quality, though if the publisher and developer are wrong, the reputation of the game could take a serious hit. Some major content creators and regular players have already quit Call of Duty: Warzone due to the plentiful cheating, and while they will likely return once the Ricochet anti-cheat goes live, these stays could be short-lived if Caldera is bad. As such, it is important that the map succeeds, with the player base likely to shrink instead of grow if Caldera is lackluster.
Call of Duty: Warzone’s planes are another part of Caldera that is worth keeping in mind. While one of the maps’ defining features will be the dogfighting that players can take part in, these vehicles have the potential to be annoying outside of aerial combat. If players are easily being picked off by someone in a plane, or cannot find an AA gun to shoot them down, Caldera’s map design might not matter. A well-crafted map could be ruined by a broken vehicle, and if players end up disliking these planes, they will be forced to put up with them until Raven Software makes changes. In turn, they could have a reason to step away from Call of Duty: Warzone.
Why Removing Verdansk Is Worth It
Still, Call of Duty: Warzone getting rid of Verdansk for good is something that needs to happen. Players were hoping for a new map to drop alongside Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, with many hoping that the Ural Mountains leaks would prove true. Sadly, they did not, and players were instead given a Cold War-themed version of Verdansk with a few new points of interest. Call of Duty: Warzone is in desperate need of a new map, and if it is going to succeed, it needs to be the center of attention.
Keeping Verdansk would mean splitting the player base, something that could stop Caldera from taking off. Both maps are large and share a big player count, so they essentially cater to the same audience. As such, if the option to play Verdansk is left in the game, players could be unwilling to try out the new map. Others could play Caldera once and never try it again if they have a bad match, leading to a smaller community for the new map. It could quickly become irrelevant if this happened, with longer wait times between matches caused by Verdansk being left in the game. As such, it makes sense for Caldera to be the only full-sized map that is available to Call of Duty: Warzone players, with everyone funneled into Caldera playlists to give it the best chance for success.
With games like Apex Legends able to thrive by introducing new maps, and Verdansk having been around for so long, a major evolution of the game is long overdue. While Rebirth Island can be kept around for those that like quicker matches on a smaller map, it is time for Verdansk to be left behind. The decision to remove it is undoubtedly a risk, as there is a chance that the Caldera experiment might not pay off. However, it is a risk worth taking, as Caldera meeting expectations could help make Call of Duty: Warzone more popular than ever before.
Call of Duty: Warzone is abailable now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.