The newest Call of Duty game isn’t even fully available yet and fans are using it as evidence to suggest that the original Warzone map Verdansk is making a comeback. In fact, one Warzone leaker is convinced we’ll see Verdansk in the battle royale again in the first half of 2024 – despite the fact that the new Urzikstan map is arriving this December.
Whether you think Call of Duty Warzone is one of the best battle royale games out there right now or not, everyone still seems in agreement that the original Verdansk map was the best the battle royale has seen so far. While Call of Duty’s new Warzone map is already giving us major Verdansk vibes, many are still clamoring for a return of the original experience – one which we’re not sure Call of Duty will ever be able to replicate. That being said, the Verdansk we know and love does feature throughout the Modern Warfare 3 campaign and fans can’t help but take that as a sign.
Throughout Modern Warfare 3, as the official trailers tease, four POIs from the original Warzone map Verdansk feature – and they have all been updated for this new Call of Duty game: the Zordaya Prison (which the following gameplay showcases), Arklov Peak Military Base, Verdansk Stadium, and Gora Dam.
We know the fact that Verdansk is even mentioned in Modern Warfare 3 is enough to send some fans into a frenzy, but the wider general consensus is that we’ll see Verdansk in Warzone again – despite developer claims that the location is gone for good when Verdansk ’84 was swapped out for Caldera in 2021.
In fact, reliable Call of Duty leaker ‘TheGhostOfHope‘ says they would “bet real money on [Verdansk] being 2024’s map” – although, that is more opinion than leak. Adding to the rumors and requests, though, ‘Alaix‘ (another Call of Duty leaker) is sharing screenshots of them parachuting around Verdansk and the whole map – more or less – seems to be there. Despite some assets being ‘low-poly’ while out of bounds, there are some densely populated areas of Verdansk that you would normally never see while playing. Some buildings even feature low-resolution interiors.
You can check some of these out below:
This, as you might imagine, is only fuelling fires more and fans are convinced that the multiple appearances from Verdansk mean that it’s on the way back. If you want to see more of Verdansk in action during Modern Warfare 3, you can below – courtesy of Kris ‘Swagg’ Lamberson. Although, avoid this one if you don’t want to see spoilers.
What do we think about all of this, though? Well, while we do think this is quite wishful thinking, it’s not totally unwarranted. The fact that huge areas of Verdansk have been updated for the latest Call of Duty game, even areas that you don’t explicitly play around in while you work your way through the Modern Warfare 3 campaign mission list, would suggest that we’re going to see more of this version of Verdansk moving forward.
And, with players expecting to see the full Warzone Mobile launch to fall during the battle royale’s fourth anniversary celebrations in March 2024, the return of Verdansk could be a fantastic way for Call of Duty to celebrate in the main game.
However, only time will tell – but you can be sure leakers will be hard at work trying to find any sign of this being true. It’s also worth remembering the rumors that MW3 was originally ‘DLC’ for Modern Warfare 2. The fact that all of the MW3 maps available at launch are remakes, and the fact that the campaign is reusing assets like this so frequently, doesn’t help to dispell these rumors – despite what Call of Duty says. You have to imagine, though, the fact that Epic Games’ Fortnite OG saw the battle royale’s player count explode recently would give Call of Duty more of a reason to look into bringing Verdansk back.
For now, though, you can read up on all the MW3 weapons making their way to Warzone when intergration arrives and the Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 release date rolls around. You may also be interested to learn that Warzone will have over 90 operators when the new Call of Duty game arrives – if you include characters like Lara Croft, Homelander, and Spawn. Is that too many? Well, there’s only going to be more on the way when we get stuck into Season 1 and beyond.