How many people still play Warzone caldera?
According to various player trackers, it‘s estimated the daily player base for Call of Duty: Warzone‘s Caldera map hovers between 1-3 million players as of March 2023. That‘s a huge drop from over 100 million monthly players during Warzone‘s peak popularity in 2021.
So why did so many gaming fans move on from Caldera? And what does the future look like for this once mighty Call of Duty battle royale experience? As an avid CoD gamer and content creator, I‘ve analyzed the latest Warzone gameplay statistics and player feedback to find out.
Warzone Caldera Daily Players Peaked Early 2022 Then Steadily Declined Through 2023
What Drove Players Away From Caldera?
Based on fan sentiment across reddit threads, YouTube reactions, and gaming forums, there seem to be a few key factors that contributed to players leaving Warzone Caldera:
- Lack of new content – No major map updates or weapon additions after the initial Caldera release
- Fetch quests – Controversial meta that forced engagement rather than strategy
- Integration with Vanguard – Lower quality assets compared to Modern Warfare‘s engine
- Forgotten setting – WWII theme less exciting than modern/futuristic Call of Duty‘s
You can see the impact this had in the chart above. Caldera daily player counts peaked in January 2022 then proceeded to steadily decline throughout 2023.
How Does Caldera Usage Compare to Other CoD Titles?
To put the 1-3 million Caldera player base into perspective, here‘s a snapshot of recent daily active users across major Call of Duty titles:
| Game | Avg Daily Players | All-Time Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Warzone 2 | 2-3 million | 6 million |
| Modern Warfare II | 400,000 | 800,000 |
| Vanguard | 150,000 | 3 million |
Player count estimates via ActivePlayer.io, March 2023
Warzone 2 as the new shiny Royale retains the lion‘s share of the battle royale audience. But Caldera still outpaces the daily players for traditional multiplayer franchises like Modern Warfare II and Vanguard. So while the player base has dropped precipitously from early 2022 highs, 1-3 million daily gamers is still a significant core audience keeping Caldera alive.
What Does The Future Hold For Caldera?
Will Activision continue to support Caldera with updates, new content, and gameplay improvements? Or is the map destined to waste away now that Warzone 2 has the spotlight?
I expect minimal maintenance at best for Caldera. The developers clearly want to drive players towards Warzone 2 and the new DMZ mode. Ongoing investments in Caldera would just cannibalize some of that audience.
That said, completely shutting down Caldera servers would anger the remaining loyal player base. It also keeps franchise engagement high across multiple titles instead of forcing all Call of Duty fans into a single game.
So in 2024 and beyond, expect Caldera lobbies to stay intact but remain frozen in time. No major changes on the horizon even as 1-3 million continue their matches each day. An important chapter in Warzone history for sure – but the final chapter nonetheless.
What are your thoughts on the current state of Warzone Caldera? Are you still dropping in for matches or have you moved on? Let me know in the comments!
