To the disappointment of many players,Call of Duty: Warzone Calderais shutting down on September 21. Players will have to bid farewell to the controversial World War 2-themed map and move on from their collection of blueprints, Operators, and camos, as these are unusable in the current version ofWarzone. However, those that do not want to move on to Al Mazrah andVondeldo not have to, as anotherCall of Dutybattle royale is still playable in 2023, provided that players have a copy ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4was an interesting but incredibly divisive entry in Activision’s flagship FPS franchise. Zombies received more love than ever before at launch, with four full maps on day one, but a massive number of bugs and controversial story decisions meant that the mode’s budget quickly faded away. Multiplayer brought back the love-hate specialist system, but went back to boots on the ground in an attempt to please everyone. And, most surprisingly, a traditional campaign was nowhere to be seen, as it was replaced by a battle royale mode called Blackout. However, for allBlack Ops 4’s flaws, this gamble may have been worth it, as the 2018 release is set to survive for longer than the originalCall of Duty:Warzonebecause of it.
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Call of Duty’s First Battle Royale Mode Has Somehow Outlasted The Original Warzone
Considering how much supportthe originalCall of Duty: Warzonereceived since it launched, and the fact that it debuted two years after Blackout, it is shocking that it is coming to an end before its predecessor. DespiteCall of Duty: Warzonegetting cosmetic DLC at a constant pace for years, and having a dedicated player base that would have continued to play it for even longer, it is dying off quicker than an older battle royale mode that lacked an in-game marketplace or several games’ worth of weapons.
Intriguingly, the reason Blackout failed to reachthe heights ofFortniteorPUBGmay be the same reason that it survived. Blackout not being a free-to-play game instantly meant that its audience was limited, as not everyone was willing to pay for a full game just to access a battle royale experience when other games offered one for free. However, this also means that Blackout was one of the main reasons to purchaseBlack Ops 4, replacing the campaign as a major pillar of the game. WithBlack Ops 4still available for purchase, and unlikely to be delisted, there is little chance of Activision shutting down the servers since many players will buy the game purely to access Blackout.
Call of Duty: WarzoneCaldera, on the other hand, was essentially competing with the newerWarzone. For a company like Activision that is looking at things from a business perspective, it made little sense to keep the player base split. After all, if players disliked the direction ofCall of Duty: Warzone 2.0and its previously brief time-to-kill, or disliked its main map in comparison to Caldera, they could just return to the older Warzone experience. This meant that those players would be missing out on the newCall of DutyBattle Passes, cosmetics, and playable content, which is obviously bad for business.
Another advantage that Blackout has is that it is so different fromWarzonemechanically. Whether players are clearing out Zombies to open a mystery box, engaging in long gun battles due to level 3 armor, completing challenges tounlock Blackout characters, or snagging paint cans to acquire camos, they are playing a different kind of battle royale. WithWarzone Caldera, they are playing the exact same kind of battle royale experience as modernWarzone, meaning thatCall of Duty: Warzonehas essentially been competing with itself.
As much as the shutdown makes sense, it is still interesting to think about Blackout outlasting a version of the hugely successfulCall of Duty: Warzone. Funnily enough, Treyarch’s battle royale mode may also experience a resurgence whenWarzone Calderacomes to an end.Black Ops 4appearing on PlayStation Plus several months ago has opened up a large potential player base, and the game’s cheap price in 2023 means that players can pick it up for a lower cost than a cosmetic bundle inCall of Duty: Warzone’s shop. If they do, they can hop into an Alcatraz match, which is the inspiration for Rebirth Island and has a nearly identical layout. Since players will surely be nostalgic for old schoolWarzoneonce the shutdown happens,Blackout may actually become an alternative, continuing its surprising display of longevity.
Call of Duty: Warzoneis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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