Warzone plans revealed for Caldera “relaunch” after WZ2 goes live

Activision revealed its plans for the original Warzone experience once Warzone 2 releases, and the future is grim for two fan-favorite maps.

Season 5 Reloaded marks an end to Warzone’s remarkable two-and-a-half-year run. In June, Activision announced the battle royale surpassed over 125 million collective players since the game’s launch in March 2020. Spanning Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War, and Vanguard, Warzone offered over 160 weapons and waves of seasonal content. 

Warzone’s history includes four maps; Verdansk, Rebirth Island, Caldera, and Fortunes Keep. Fans were devastated when Activision replaced Verdansk with Caldera in April 2021. The community also complained when Rebirth Island was temporarily removed from the map rotation.

Verdansk finally returns in Warzone Mobile, but the map never made another appearance in the base game. Now once again, players are left under a cloud of uncertainty, as Activision confirmed the removal of Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep once Warzone 2 releases.

What’s happening to Warzone 1?

Warzone 2 launches on November 16. Built from the ground up using a new engine, Warzone 2 wipes the slate clean, erasing all progression from the original battle royale. Set in the desserts of the Republic of Adal, Al Mazrah is Warzone 2’s featured map.

Activision announced that at approximately 8 A.M. PT on November 16, the Warzone servers will temporarily go offline. The developers expect Warzone servers to go back online at approximately 10 A.M. PT on November 28.

When Warzone goes back live the only two Warzone experiences available will be Warzone 2 and Warzone Caldera, which will continue as a separate game from Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.

All of Warzone 2’s weapons, progression, and inventory systems are tied to MW2.

Warzone Caldera relaunch: What to expect

Here are all of the gameplay experiences listed once Warzone Caldera launches.

• Player progression, cross-progression for XP and Weapon XP, inventories, Battle Pass content, weapons, Store Bundles, and other purchases from Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® (2019), Call of Duty®: Warzone™, Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War, and Call of Duty®: Vanguard will be accessible only within Warzone Caldera (and within their respective games).
• Expect to access a standard Battle Royale Playlist.
• Modern Warfare II or Warzone 2.0 content, including new Battle Pass and Store Bundles, will not be available.
• 2XP and 2WXP Tokens will not be transferrable between Warzone Caldera and Warzone 2.0.
• While Warzone Caldera won’t have an in-game store, COD Points will be transferrable between all games.
• Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep maps will not be present when Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera becomes available to play.
• For those fans of small Battle Royale maps, expect exciting developments in Warzone 2.0 during future seasons.