Verdansk Boosts Warzone, Developers Confirm Its Staying

It's fair to say that Verdansk is breathing new life into Call of Duty: Warzone, and its return couldn't have been more timely. The online community had previously labeled Activision's now five-year-old battle royale as "cooked" until the nostalgia-fueled reintroduction of Verdansk turned the tide. Now, the internet is buzzing, declaring Warzone "back." Despite the dramatic event of Activision nuking Verdansk in the past, it doesn't seem to have deterred players. Both lapsed gamers who fondly remember Warzone as their lockdown entertainment and loyal fans who have stuck with the game through its ups and downs over the past five years are agreeing that Warzone is more enjoyable now than it has been since its explosive launch in 2020.

This back-to-basics gameplay experience was a deliberate design choice by the developers at Raven and Beenox. Pete Actipis, the game director at Raven, and Etienne Pouliot, the creative director at Beenox, spearheaded the multi-studio effort to revitalize Warzone. In an extensive interview with IGN, the duo delved into the process of bringing Warzone back to its roots, the success of Verdansk's Casual mode, and whether they considered limiting operator skins to mil-sim to recapture the 2020 feel. They also addressed the pivotal question on everyone's mind: is Verdansk here to stay?

Read on to discover more about their insights and plans for the future of Call of Duty: Warzone.