Last night, several new rumors surfaced stating that Call of Duty Warzone’s original map ‘Verdansk’ has been delayed from its December 2024 target to “early 2025”.
The news came courtesy of @BobNetworkUK on Twitter, which Insider Gaming has been able to verify.
In December 2023, Insider Gaming exclusively reported that Verdansk would return as the title’s main map during Black Ops 6. As reported, we couldn’t verify the exact release date of Verdansk but understood that the game was to follow Warzone’s traditional ‘main map’ release schedule and be released in December 2024 – a seemingly missed target.
Sources have since revealed that Verdansk was never actually intended to return to Warzone, despite the previous rumors. Instead, there was a massive pivot in late 2023 due to Fortnite OG. Fortnite OG saw the return of Fortnite’s original map, which saw the game have a gigantic resurgence of players and create the biggest day ever in Fortnite history, with 44.7 million players. Understandably, it’s a metric that Actviision wishes to replicate.
The pivot meant that Warzone’s 2024 mainline map, ‘Avalon’ (it’s unclear if that’s the final name), has been pushed back to 2025’s Call of Duty, codenamed ‘Saturn’. It’s understood that Avalon is nearly complete, but Activision is adamant to see a massive resurgence in players. In part, it could be because Call of Duty 2025 will already be leaning heavily into nostalgia with its multiplayer offering.
Officially, Activision has yet to comment on any of the rumors, but a few subtle remarks from marketing could suggest that information on Warzone could come at a much later date than usual. During the Black Ops 6 direct, it was announced that Call of Duty NEXT would feature the full reveal of Black Ops 6 multiplayer, whereas, in the past, they’ve also announced that the event will contain “the future of Warzone.” In addition, one developer during the direct asked production, “Am I allowed to talk about Warzone yet?”, in which a firm “no” can be heard from those behind the camera. Coincidence? I think not!