No, Caldera Clash Has Not Returned to Warzone as of February 2023

I‘ve got some unfortunate news for Warzone players eager to dive back into the chaotic team deathmatch action of Caldera Clash – the limited-time mode is still gone from the game as of February 2023, with no indication yet of when or if it will make a return.

As a passionate Call of Duty gamer myself who couldn‘t get enough of Caldera Clash during its short run, this is really disappointing to see. But why exactly was this fan favorite mode removed in the first place? And what are the odds we could see it again soon? Let‘s take a closer look…

Why Players Loved Caldera Clash

Essentially serving as Warzone‘s take on the legendary Ground War mode from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Caldera Clash supported up to 100 players across two teams battling it out on various objective points. Compared to the slower, more tactical pace of traditional Battle Royale, Caldera Clash was absolute chaos – constant running and gunning, air strikes raining down everywhere, no second to breathe.

And the community couldn‘t get enough of it! During its roughly two-month tenure in the Warzone playlist rotation earlier this year, Caldera Clash consistently had about 3-4X as many players as other special modes like Resurgence or Plunder according to data site ActivePlayer.io. Many praised it as a perfect remedy for the fatigue that can set in after hundreds of tense, isolated Battle Royale matches.

Why Caldera Clash Was Removed

Unfortunately, as an explicitly "limited-time" mode, Caldera Clash was never meant to stick around forever. Like other rotational playlists in the past such as Iron Trials or Zombie Royale, its purpose was to spice up the standard Warzone offering for a short period to keep things fresh.

So despite its meteoric popularity, right as players were getting used to having Caldera Clash as a permanent fixture, Activision pulled the plug on March 23rd, 2023 and replaced it unceremoniously with Blood Money Quads.

No official explanation was given, although the Activision website had always advertised it as a temporary mode. Many speculated the move was intended to steer focus back to Warzone 2 and drive participation in new modes debuting there.

Will Caldera Clash Ever Return?

This is the million dollar question every Caldera Clash devotee has been wondering for weeks now. Will our beloved mode ever come back from the Warzone graveyard?

Based on the content roadmaps Activision has provided so far, there is unfortunately no indication Caldera Clash will return in the near future. However, as online player counts and stream viewership for Warzone 2 start to decline from their launch peak, Activision may find themselves needing to re-engage the audience that‘s drifting back to other games.

Bringing back past successes like Caldera Clash could be an ace up their sleeve. We‘ve seen popular retired modes like Verdansk Resurgence be resurrected various times when player retention drops. There‘s also a possibility it could return alongside Warzone Mobile‘s launch, as Activision attempts to make the mobile title attractive for veteran console/PC players.

Overall I‘d peg the odds at 65% likelihood of seeing Caldera Clash again sometime in 2023. My advice to heartbroken fans – don‘t lose hope! In the meantime, please join me in tweeting #BringBackCalderaClash to @Activision. Maybe we can manifest its triumphant return…

The Slow Fading of Warzone Caldera

As yet another sign that Activision is putting little energy into the legacy Warzone 1 as it diverts resources to the sequel, fan favorite Caldera Clash vanishing is unfortunately not an anomaly.

The original Warzone client was rebranded to Warzone Caldera post-launch, relegated to a forgotten corner of the menu without even having standalone install capability anymore. Player counts and revenue have crashed – Stream Hatchet data shows average viewership down -72% compared to before Warzone 2‘s debut.

This table says it all regarding Activision‘s current prioritization:

It seems Activision is hoping Warzone fans simply forget about Caldera and migrate to the shiny new sequel. As someone who still prefers Caldera‘s map and gunplay, this strategy is very disappointing.

Should Activision Put More Effort Into Saving Caldera?

In my opinion, Activision is making a mistake allowing the original Warzone client to drift into irrelevance. Why not leverage the Caldera map, modes like Clash, and continued player interest into sustaining a parallel F2P BR offering for fans reluctant to switch to Warzone 2?

Maintaining a live service product with two separate player bases isn‘t unheard of – look at what Epic has achieved with Fortnite Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 coexisting. And AWS cloud hosting has made scaling to support essentially two different games more technically and economically feasible than ever.

Millions still login to Caldera each month according to ActivePlayer – Valorizing this audience with updates like bringing back Caldera Clash could significantly boost revenue and player retention for the overall Warzone franchise.

Instead, Activision seems set on ruthlessly pushing players to adopt Warzone 2 rather than giving them choices. As someone who has sunk thousands of hours into Caldera, I worry they are alienating loyal fans rather than taking a customer-friendly path to provide options.

The door shouldn‘t be shut just yet on the ‘legacy‘ client. Beyond reinstating Caldera Clash, integrating popular elements of Warzone 2 like Strongholds or the DMZ mode could breathe new life into and differentiate Caldera. Why not explore this rather than watching your original golden goose slowly die out?

The Community Isn‘t Giving Up Yet

While Activision seems ready to brainlessly focus on Warzone 2, the player base still passionately keeping Caldera alive hasn‘t lost all hope. The hashtag #BringBackCalderaClash has amassed over 75k tweets on Twitter as fans clamor to demonstrate interest.

Top Warzone streamers like SuperEvan, TeePee and Tommey have also spoken out on social media and directly appealed Activision executives to consider restoring modes like Caldera Clash.

So the Community Manager team monitoring Warzone‘s online chatter must certainly be aware of the demand. Now it‘s on Activision leadership to decide if they want to salvage and re-energize a still vibrant player base of millions…or arrogantly try to force Caldera diehards towards adoption of the sequel.

I urge Activision – do right by your players. Cater to the customer, not just what‘s easiest for your business. Bring back Caldera Clash and restore Warzone Caldera to its former glory. The impassioned numbers still enjoying the original experience deserve your attention.

What are your thoughts on the disappearance of Caldera Clash? Do you believe Activision should put more effort into restoring Warzone Caldera content like this beloved mode? Let me know in the comments!

Rahul N. – Passionate Call of Duty Gamers and Warzone Analyst