Will Keeping Verdansk Around Hinder The Growth Of Warzone?

It's been over a year since Infinity Ward introduced the Call of Duty community to Verdansk, the largest map that has ever featured in an instalment of the popular first-person shooter franchise. Featuring a diverse range of settings ranging from the once-bustling metropolis of Downtown to the deserted Military Base, Verdansk has become a staple of Warzone and the entire franchise.

Despite its popularity among the tens of millions of players that continue to drop into the map on a regular basis, the lack of significant changes to the map in comparison to other battle royale titles has left the game feeling somewhat stale, much to the annoyance of players who are beginning to demand a brand-new setting to inject a new lease of life.

With recent reports seemingly confirming that Verdansk won't be disappearing from Warzone anytime soon, is the decision to keep hold of the map going to hinder the growth of the game as it enters its second year?

Read More: What Changes Are Coming To The Warzone Map In Season 3?

Out With The Old

Since the launch of Warzone and the introduction of Verdansk, there have been very few changes to the map which has left the battle royale feeling stale. The roof of the Stadium being opened up alongside the additions of missile silos have provided a small improvement to what has been a largely unchanged map.

Compared to the likes of Fortnite and Apex Legends, there has been the launch of new maps alongside in-game events which have ushered in drastic changes to the map, providing players fresh points of interest to land and unique areas that provide a burst of contrast to the rest of the map.

There's a chance that a trip back to the 1980s could rectify this issue but judging by recent images revealing Downtown with a fresh coat of paint and no changes, it's unlikely that the map will feel or play any different to how it already is.

Where Is The New Content?

As demand for an all-new setting continues to grow, there's every chance that Warzone's huge player base could begin to search for pastures new if some kind of complete overhaul doesn't arrive in the not-too-distant future.

Considering that reports have all but confirmed a map set in the Ural Mountains is in development, it would be a great shame if Activision opted to leave it on the shelf collecting dust rather than players getting the chance to experience a completely new setting for the fast-paced action that Warzone is synonymous for.

I think that Verdansk certainly has its place in Warzone but now is a prime opportunity for Raven Software and Activision to take the battle royale in a new direction in the months leading up to the release of WWII: Vanguard.

The 1980s setting does tie into Black Ops Cold War to some extent but the game is almost at the halfway point of its game cycle and before we know it, all eyes will be fixed on the next game. Rather than a new coat of paint to existing POIs in Verdansk, a map containing classic Black Ops maps along with the Fireteam map pool injects that burst of freshness that the battle royale so desperately needs.