The firstCall of Duty: Warzonelaunched at the perfect moment in time. Releasing on July 28, 2025,Call of Duty: Warzonedropped right as the global pandemic was starting to bring lockdowns into effect. While this was obviously a terrifying time for everyone, it did mean that many were now trapped inside their homes and desperate for entertainment, and a free-to-playCall of Dutybattle royale game filled that time nicely. For its first few months,Call of Duty: Warzonewas one of the most popular games on the planet, easily standing shoulder-to-shoulder withFortniteandApex Legends, two juggernauts in the free-to-play arena.
But all good things must come to an end. Activision Blizzard has just announced that the firstCall of Duty: Warzone, rebranded a few months ago asWarzone: Caldera, will be shutting down on September 21of this year. While this decision does make sense, withCall of Duty: Warzone 2stealing a great deal of its predecessor’s thunder, it may end up setting a worrying precedent for the future ofWarzone.
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Call of Duty: Warzone 2’s Days Could Be Numbered
Call of Duty: Warzonehad a pretty solid run. Over the last three years, the firstWarzonehad seen a number of changes and updates, some of which drastically changed the map. Fans quickly fell in love withWarzone’s original Verdansk map, and Verdansk ‘84 gave it a fun throwback makeover to align withCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s release. And while Caldera proved controversial until the very end, it’ll likely be remembered fondly by those who have played it in years to come, as is the case with manyCall of Dutymaps.
But sinceCall of Duty: Warzone 2’s release back in November 2022, the originalWarzonehas been relegated to an obvious afterthought over at Activision. After a brief hiatus,Call of Duty: Warzone’s servers came back online toward the end of November, and the game was rebranded asCall of Duty: Warzrone Caldera. Optimistic fans hoped that this name change was a hint that Verdansk would be brought back as well, but that seems to have just been a pipe dream looking back now.
Instead, Activision is shutting the servers down forCall of Duty: Warzone Calderain September, meaning that every second of players’ progress will be scrapped, including any skins or cosmetics they unlocked or bought along the way. While players will still be able to use their purchasedskins inCall of Duty: Modern Warfare,Black Ops Cold War, andVanguard, that isn’t really an option for those that only hadWarzone. But Activision’s reasons make sense. It’s only natural that both publishers and developers would want to focus all of their efforts on the new and excitingCall of Duty: Warzone 2, along with its mobile port coming later this year, even if this could start an ugly cycle.
WithCall of Duty:Warzoneshutting down in favor of the newest iteration, it sets the precedent that this could happen again in the future. ThoughWarzone 2will probably stick around for a while, its architecture isn’t going to last forever, and eventually, future generations ofCall of Dutywill want aWarzonemode that can keep up with their technological advancements. So, it’s more than likely that in another 3-5 years' time, aWarzone 3will replace the current model, once again scrapping all the skins and progress players have made and repeating the cycle. That is, ifCall of Duty: Warzoneremains popular for that long.
Call of Duty: Warzoneis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
