The original free-to-play battle royale game (now known as ) will shut down definitively on September 21st. That will allow developers to focus on “future Call of Duty content including the current (originally called ) free-to-play experience,” Activision wrote in a blog post.
All gameplay, player progression, inventories and online services will expire on that date. However, any Caldera content purchased in , or will still be accessible in those games.
came along in 2020, featuring two gameplay modes (battle royale and plunder) plus a single map called Verdansk that supported up to 150 players at a time. It shared a battle pass, weapons and cosmetics with 2019’s . It was an immediate success, reportedly hitting 30 million players just 10 days after launch.
The game was renamed (after the 2021 Caledera map) following the release of in November of 2022. was recently renamed simply to and Activision is encouraging original Warzone players to jump ship to that title. “Expect a vast amount of gameplay choices across three Battle Royale maps (including Season 04’s new map Vondel), as well as Ranked Play, the DMZ Beta featuring five different Extraction Zones, BlackCell offerings, and more,” it wrote.
Some players aren’t pleased, though, citing the fact that earlier battle royale games like from still have operating servers, while the original won’t. Others are displeased that resources are being shunted to , and some have pointed out that they’ll lose all their Warzone cosmetics, according to .