Call Of Duty Dev Explains Why Verdansk Can't Return
The future of Warzone hangs in the balance of the upcoming sequel as the new Caldera map has landed flat for many. The landscape of the high-octane Call of Duty shooter has been widely criticised in recent months, and with only the pint-sized Rebirth Island as an alternative playground, fans are yearning for a return to the iconic Verdansk.
Just as Apex Legends continues to succeed with a variety of game modes and a healthy rotation of maps, and Fortnite's acceleration back toward the battle royale throne gains traction with the no-build gameplay, Warzone's mundane and tedious atmosphere has left a sour taste in the mouth of Call of Duty loyals.
The franchise now faces a race against time to regain its popularity before the sequel but hopes for a sojourn back to a happier killing zone have been dashed.
Will Verdansk Ever Return To Warzone?
The glory days of Warzone were undoubtedly had on Verdansk, and whilst many called for its head during its reign, it's clear now the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Unfortunately, hopes for its return have been dashed by Call of Duty Live Operations Lead, Josh Bridge.
In an interview with former Call of Duty professional turned Warzone content creator Tyler "TeePee" Polchow, Bridge revealed that Verdansk will likely never see the light of day again, due to the huge download size that would come with any backtracking.
"We want that. We all want that," confessed Bridge when quizzed about a map rotation between Verdansk and Caldera. However, "There's a technical problem. The install and reinstall sizes are f**king crazy," he explained.
Why Do Download Sizes Mean Verdansk Will Never Return?
Warzone fans are no strangers to putting their hard drives through major workouts to play the game, with seasonal updates of the game seeing huge downloads that put a strain on players' hard drives and internet connections. Having been condensed to a mere 10GB in the latest Season 2 Reloaded refresh, fans would have to get used to a 50GB or higher update every five weeks again should they add Verdansk back, and the player base would soon grow too weary to return.
"If we pulled out Caldera and dropped in Verdansk, it would essentially be like redownloading [the entire game]. Every time we've done that, we lose players. People are like 'I don't want to reinstall this', I can't fit anything else in apart from Warzone on a PS4 for example," Bridge said.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, as a seasonal rotation could be something that reaches the game in time, as well as limiting the gun choices to a single game's arsenal (Modern Warfare, Black Ops, Vanguard). "We're putting a lot more effort in on a technical level to solve that problem so that we can have a map rotation," Bridge said.
Should a map rotation come into play, though, it will mean only one will be available for the entire season, rather than Apex Legends' hourly switcharoo, which begs the question as to whether it would be worth it at all?
Can Raven Software self-revive Warzone? Or, is it too late. Rebirth Island may be the solution for now, but only time will tell whether the franchise can return from the dead.
