Today is Call of Duty Warzone's fifth anniversary, having launched globally on March 10th 2020. To mark the birthday celebrations, Activision have confirmed that the original beloved Warzone map, Verdansk will be returning on April 3rd 2025 as part of Season 3.
Trailer and images
From images and a trailer released today, it appears that the map will launch in a very similar state to its original 2020 launch. Players will still have to wait for more information to be revealed in due course. Alongside the return to the map, the developers are bringing back iconic fan favourite guns including the Kilo assault rifle and the HDR sniper rifle. The return to Verdansk also brings back the original "˜Showers' gulag where players will compete 1v1 for a chance to return to the battlefield with their comrades.
Launch of Season 3
Earlier this month we reported that Black Ops and Warzone Season 3 was delayed. This looks to ensure extra polish ahead of the return of Verdansk. Whilst Call of Duty gamers - like myself who played around 1500 hours of the original Warzone – cannot wait to return to the fictional Eastern European city, the title has many fundamental flaws that the developers need extra time to fix. Some of these flaws include cheaters, server issues and other quality of life problems.
Verdansk's history
Warzone launched right before the international lockdown for COVID-19. When the world's population was mostly resigned to their homes looking for an outlet, the F2P battle-royale captured the hearts and minds of many casual gamers and quickly raced to phenomenal player numbers. In late 2021, Verdansk originally departed the Warzone servers replaced by Caldera. Verdansk returned with Call of Duty Warzone Mobile in 2024 but the mobile release has struggled to retain players. Activision is hoping that the return of the original map will bring back casual and other lapsed players. Reports last week indicate they may consider shutting Warzone down if Verdansk doesn't deliver a significant player count.
Are you ready to dust off your Kilo or HDR? Which POI will you be heading back to first? Let us know in the comments below. Stick with Gamer Social Club for further Call of Duty, Black Ops and Warzone coverage.
