Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera is shutting down for good

All good things must come to an end, and that rings true with Activision’s Call of Duty: Warzone.

When Call of Duty: Warzone was released in 2020, it propelled the franchise into the competitive free-to-play battle royale genre. It's a genre which so many publishers and developers have tried to get a slice of, but have failed miserably. It seems that no matter how much money is behind a new battle royale venture, few can compete with the likes of Warzone, Fortnite, PUBG and Apex Legends.

Take a look at some of our favourite Warzone wins and fails below.

When Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 launched in November 2022, its old format was put on the back burner. In fact, Activision Blizzard made the decision to remove the first iteration of Warzone, but brought it back just two weeks later under the new name of Warzone Caldera, so that players could still enjoy the OG map.

Sadly, for those that may still be enjoying Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera, your time will soon be coming to an end. As of 21 September 2023, Activision Blizzard is pulling the plug, and Warzone Caldera will be taken offline. What’s more, Activision Blizzard has confirmed that all progression, inventory items and services will expire on that very day.

The original version of Warzone was released as part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), before being its own standalone game. Furthermore, when Warzone became its own standalone entity, it was later connected to Black Ops Old War and Vanguard. Thankfully, the traditional multiplayer modes of Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard will not be impacted by the closure of Warzone Caldera.

In a blog post announcing the closure of Warzone Caldera, Activision Blizzard said that it is focusing on “future Call of Duty content including the current Warzone free-to-play experience.” They added, “Players should prepare for even more Warzone content across consoles and PC, as well as a new era of battle royale on the go with the launch of Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, which includes a shared Battle Pass and cross-progression. The Call of Duty team and studios look forward to sharing more details soon.”

In related news, a leak for the 2023 Call of Duty has appeared online, and this weekend, you can play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II for free.