A number of rumours have suggested that a classic Call Of Duty: Warzone map is set to make a return next year.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 is due for release October 2024 with a massive update for Warzone set to follow in the months afterwards.
However, over the weekend a number of rumours started circulating that original Warzone map Verdansk would not be included with the launch of Season One of Black Ops, and has been delayed to early 2025.
“EXCLUSIVE: Verdansk will be delayed from Season 1 of Black Ops 6 to sometime during mid lifecycle of Black Ops 6,” wrote BobNetworkUK on social media, breaking the news. “Urzikstan will receive gameplay updates/map updates and Ranked Play with Season 1 to compensate for this delay.”
EXCLUSIVE: Verdansk will be delayed from Season 1 of Black Ops 6 to sometime during mid lifecycle of Black Ops 6.
Urzikstan will receive gameplay updates/map updates and Ranked Play with Season 1 to compensate for this delay. pic.twitter.com/RqF0TfP7Bu
— bob. (@BobNetworkUK) June 27, 2024
“Before people start to run with this, I’m just commenting to clarify that it was never confirmed Verdansk is coming back at all, much less a time for it to release,” added fanpage ModernWarzone. “This was a leaks thing, and in the gaming industry things are fluid and change a lot.”
The rumour has allegedly been corroborated by a number of sources, with Activision Blizzard reportedly taking the decision to delay the release of the original Warzone map to try and replicate the success of Fortnite reinstating a classic map.
Fortnite OG launched in November 2023 and returned the game to its classic 2018 map. It kickstarted a massive Fortnite resurgence, with 44.7million players giving the battle royale its biggest ever day. So of course Activision Blizzard wants to replicate that success, especially with Black Ops 6 launching day one on Xbox Game Pass.
Typically, Call Of Duty games shift around 25million units each, with a RRP of £70 so putting it on the subscription service seems like a massive gamble for the company, but it’s already using Call Of Duty to try and drum up new memberships. “And, if you’re new to Game Pass – we’ve got a (figurative) mountain of games for you to check out and play while waiting for that pre-install button to light up for Black Ops 6,” said Microsoft, confirming the news.
In other news, it’s been confirmed that a remake of Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is in development and will be released this summer.