Call Of Duty: Warzone's shiny new map that will emerge from the fallout of a massive nuclear detonation has been revealed inadvertently ahead of the hotly-anticipated event.
The rumours that Verdansk would be destroyed have been lingering since the launch of the game one year ago. It's a common tactic for live service games that want to ensure that their communities are engaged with the story and the development of the game: Apex Legends regularly offers different maps on rotation, and all eyes were on Fortnite when Epic Games erased the world in a huge singularity event. Furthermore, it's an opportunity to scrub away the established meta of the game and encourage fresh faces to join the fray. Warzone has only ever had the one map, and Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare players have had the luxury of sightseeing across their collection of maps.
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So, with no more ado, let's get into the announcement of the new map on its way to Warzone. As per the report from Video Games Chronicle, this was leaked by a Twitter account by the name of @OnnThinIce, and you know what, that handle is pretty apt for what I imagine was Activision's reaction to finding out the reveal had been spoiled. The video shared by the account was a work-in-progress live-action TV advert, yet interestingly, it seems that the new map is in fact an alteration on the foundations of Verdansk. Though the video has been snatched out of the air like wings on a fly by copyright takedowns, you're still able to find snippets out there on the internet. As the camera pans round Verdansk at rocket-speed, the landmarks transform into '80s versions of their contemporary originals.
The dam becomes an aqueduct, the football stadium becomes a much more humble iteration of the venue that's still under construction, there's a dark and dingy mineshaft, and in one part of the map a massive Duga system has been erected. This'll be familiar to those who played Black Ops Cold War as this is part of the Ashes to Ashes mission. Ergo, it's evident that the clocks are spinning backwards to the 1980s, and the fact that it's not an entirely new map won't alienate those who prefer Verdansk.
It's all very well and good talking about this, but when is it going to happen? April 22nd is a date that's been bandied about, but neither Infinity Ward, Treyarch nor Activision have been forthcoming with the end of Season 2 of Warzone and Black Ops Cold War. Thanks to datamined dialogue files, we do have an inkling that the apocalypse will be triggered by the zombie invasion that's been creeping over the map, and it's even possible that the new map will have so much room for activities.
Featured Image Credit: ActivisionTopics: News, Call of Duty