When Did Call of Duty: Warzone 1 Come Out and What‘s Happened Since?
Call of Duty: Warzone first burst onto the battle royale scene on March 10th, 2020. This groundbreaking free-to-play experience was launched by Activision and Infinity Ward as an extension of 2019‘s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
The Explosive Debut of Warzone 1
Within its first 24 hours, over 6 million players had dropped into the expansive Verdansk map. This made it the most successful Call of Duty launch event in history.
The timing of Warzone‘s release coincided perfectly with global stay-at-home mandates, leading to record engagement. By the end of its first month, over 60 million players had joined the action.
Several factors contributed to these incredible statistics:
- Cross-platform availability: Released simultaneously on PS4, Xbox One, and PC
- Free-to-play model: No paywall to access the base experience
- Blizzard/Activision marketing: Backed by ad campaigns across major platforms
- Integration with Modern Warfare (2019): Allowed seamless transition between multiplayer modes
- Innovative mechanics: Loadout drops and the Gulag added fresh battle royale elements
It was clear from the outset that Warzone had completely transformed the Call of Duty franchise.
The Glory Days of Verdansk and Peak Player Counts
The first sixteen months were a golden period for Warzone 1. Regular content updates added new weapons, Operators, limited-time modes, and points of interest to Verdansk.
By December 2020, the total number of registered Warzone players eclipsed 85 million according to Activision. They were clearly dominating the battle royale space.
Warzone continued to shatter Call of Duty records in 2021. The 80s Action Heroes event starring Rambo and John McClane drew over 100 million players across its duration.
Shortly after the launch of Call of Duty: Vanguard in November 2021, Warzone‘s long-rumored Pacific map Caldera finally replaced Verdansk. This ushered in Warzone Pacific and Warzone Season 1.
At this point, Activision stated Warzone as a whole had exceeded 125 million global players. Engagement remained extremely high leading into 2022.
The Decline After Black Ops Cold War Integration
While Warzone Pacific Season 1 initially saw strong numbers, issues with weapon balancing, bugs, cheaters, and excessive player loadouts soon surfaced.
Coupled with frequently delayed updates, this led to frustration from the community. Several prominent streamers and competitive players began moving away from Warzone 1 in early 2022.
By March 2022, public player count trackers indicated under 100,000 concurrent players on average. From a peak of over 600,000 in January 2021, this signaled a definite downward trend prior to Warzone 2‘s release.
The Launch of Warzone 2 Marks the End of Major Updates
On November 16th, 2022 Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 launched worldwide as a true sequel. Boasting brand new graphics, AI enemies, mechanics and DMZ mode, the series shifted in an ambitious new direction.
Rather than shutting down Warzone Pacific completely, it was rebranded as Warzone Caldera – still available but frozen in time regarding new content.
Player counts have dropped below 50,000 on Caldera following Warzone 2‘s successful launch. It exists now as an unsupported nostalgia trip rather than part of the main ecosystem.
Time will tell whether Warzone Caldera retains a small subset of loyal players longing for Verdansk or if servers empty entirely.
Either way, the era of major updates has ended. Warzone 2 is the new focal point capturing audiences and pushing the battle royale genre forward.
I‘ve loved chronicling Warzone 1‘s meteoric explosion onto the scene as well as its diminishing relevance. Let me know if you have any other Call of Duty questions!
