Call of Duty: Warzone started as a spin-off but quickly became a cornerstone of the franchise. With its ups and downs, it reached millions of players and represented an impressive success for Activision. Now, more than 3 years later, its time to say goodbye.
The end of CoD: Warzone
As previously announced, the free Battle Royale permanently closed its servers on September 21, 2023. While the new version that debuted alongside CoD: Modern Warfare II remains active and receives new content, its now impossible to enjoy the original experience and battle in Caldera.
Players can still use customization items in CoD: Modern Warfare and CoD: Black Ops Cold War, but those who only played the free title have to say goodbye to their in-game purchases because items cannot be transferred to Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0.
Naturally, fans and content creators lamented this event and used the hours leading up to the server closure to bid farewell to the free-to-play game. They also turned to social media and forums to share their experiences.
"I have so many fantastic memories throughout its lifespan (…) There were issues (mostly cheaters), but my God… when it was fun, it was amazing. The best Battle Royale Ive played," wrote a fan on Reddit.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/Swagg/status/1704549700618305760[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/xFleXy_/status/1704817528969580880[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/Kestico_/status/1704852735600755042[/tweet]
Why is Call of Duty: Warzone closing its servers?
Of course, this news saddened a large portion of the community. Its impossible not to wonder why Activision decided to end the competitive games operations.
In June 2023, the company announced that closing the servers for Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera would allow them to focus on new content for CoD: Warzone 2.0 and future installments of the franchise. The goal is to allocate resources to the latest experiences in the IP.
The original Battle Royale arrived on March 10, 2020. It had a strong start, as it garnered over 6 million players on its first day. Its instant success allowed developers to provide new content and updates that changed the map and the way the game was played.
With the debut of the new version in 2022, the game was renamed to Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera.
But tell us, what do you think of this news? Were you a fan of this title? Let us know in the comments.