It has been a year since the launch ofCall of Duty: Warzone,and it is clearly not the same game. A train wanders the map, the stadium was blasted wide open, and now the undead is swarming the southern beach. WithCall of Duty: Warzonecelebrating one year of non-stop action, many fans are looking back at the experiences they shared with their competitors and friends.
Although the game is currently embedded in Season 2, theCall of Duty: Warzonecommunity has experienced 8 seasons filled with content. Each season acts as an expansion by growing the world, its operators, its weapons, and its story. With more content expected in the future, the next year willfurther evolveCall of Duty: Warzoneinto unknown territoryand innovations.
RELATED:Genius Vehicle Play Grants Call of Duty: Warzone Player a Well-Deserved Win
For many fans, this anniversary is a great chance to look back and reflect upontheCall of Duty: Warzoneupdatesand their impacts on the game. With the original intention to compete in the industry of battle royale titles,Call of Duty: Warzonehas exceeded its original mission and become a pillar of theCall of Dutycommunity. As a staple title, the free-to-play availability mixed with AAA quality has inspired Activision to take a similar approach to other franchises.
Warzone’s Launch
Originally launched as a competitor toFortniteandApex Legends,theCall of Dutybattle royale was almost an instant success among fans. Players flooded into the free-to-play experience causing record surges in downloads within only a few weeks. Shortly after that, the first season of content appeared and officiallylinkedCall of Duty: WarzoneandCall of Duty: Modern Warfarewith shared unlocks.
Despite bugs, glitches, and early balance concerns,Call of Duty: Warzonecontinued to grow in popularity. Streamers, content creators, and other high-profile players joined in on the battle royale, and soon popularity soared to unimaginable heights. For manyCall of Dutyfans,Call of Duty: Warzoneacted as the embodiment of what a battle royale should be. Its simple features and overall consistent design made the game enjoyable, and its future updates only added to the excitement within the title.
During the early days ofCall of Duty: Warzone,many fans considered it merely anexpansion to theCall of Duty: Modern Warfareworld. It was not long until the game started taking on a life of its own as new operators, evolving stories, and content expanded into this battle royale experience. Looking back, the game was simple, and the concept successful from the very beginning.
Seasons of Content
Despite reoccurring bugs, negative fan reception, and a fluctuating meta, theCall of Duty: Warzoneseason systemhad brought amazing changes to the game. New operators were introduced, and weapons could be gained for free through participation alone. Things came to a climactic point whenCall of Duty: Warzonestarted using the seasonal content releases to augment the map.
It was not long before Stadium was blown open, and a train begins to travel around the map.Call of Duty: Warzonefans once had limited options to travel long distances quickly, then the metro was added as an additional feature. Despite each addition coming with its own bugs and problems, the benefit of new locations and options outweighed all negatives.Call of Duty: Warzonehas seen a powerful set of changes, and each one seems to have better the game’s experience in Verdansk.
OnceCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warlaunched, the gamebeing the process of integration. While in concept, this was a brilliant move, it was also a major gamble and one that many fans are still unsure of. Aside from the new content, the season count restarted, which has given the game a new sense of life despite being a year old.
Black Ops Cold War’s Integration
Call of Duty: WarzoneandCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warintegratedonly months afterCold War’srelease. The game added in its entire armory several operators and begun to aid in the development of seasonal content. Fans had a rough transition asCall of Duty: Warzonewas slowly shifting focus fromCall of Duty: Modern Warfarein favor of the newer title.
Initially, there were bumps, including weapon imbalances, operator glitches, and attachment errors. After several patches throughout the first season of content, the game stabilized, andCall of Duty: Warzonegrew stronger as it survived its very first integration. This was a revolutionary concept for theCall of Dutyfranchise as itextendedCall of Duty: Warzonepast its one-year expected lifespan.
From the example set through the integration period,Call of Dutypublisher Activision announced the integration a success. Future titles are expected to integrate into a similar fashion, allowingCall of Duty: Warzoneto evolve as each new title releases and gives the game its own spin of unique and thrilling content.
Warzone’s Future
The future ofCall of Duty: Warzoneis bright, and there is a high chance that new content will continue to flow into the title. As theCall of Dutycommunity prepares forCall of Duty 2021,the battle royale experience will evolve its story in conjunction withCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
It is unknown exactlywhat futureCall of Duty: Warzonewill have, but provided the developers listen to player feedback; the title will be on a solid path. The last year has shown the popularity of the battle royale experience; all that is missing is updates to maintain the integrity of the title itself.
Despite still having several bugs, however, the game is nowhere near the state it was in during the initial launch. Every season, patch, update, and announcement adds further content to the game and resolves lingering issues known by the development team. With a dedicated community at its side,Call of Duty: Warzonehas a healthy future for its next year of continued community support. Hopefully,Call of Duty: Warzonewill survive for several years to come and build a dedicated and consistent community of battle royale enthusiasts.
Call of Duty: Warzoneis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:Call of Duty: Warzone Fan Creates Chart To Help Kar98 Fans Hit Their Targets
