Verdansk Boosts Warzone, Here to Stay, Say Developers

It's undeniable that Verdansk has injected new vitality into *Call of Duty: Warzone*, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. The online community had previously labeled Activision's now five-year-old battle royale as "cooked," but the nostalgia-driven return of Verdansk has flipped the script. Now, the internet is buzzing, declaring Warzone "back." Yes, Activision did nuke Verdansk in the past, but that seems irrelevant now. Lapsed players, who remember Warzone fondly as their lockdown game, are flocking back to the map that started it all. Meanwhile, loyalists who have stuck with the game through its ups and downs over the past five years are proclaiming that Warzone is more enjoyable now than it has been since its explosive debut in 2020.

This return to a more fundamental gameplay experience was a calculated move by the developers at Raven and Beenox. Pete Actipis, the game director at Raven, and Etienne Pouliot, the creative director at Beenox, spearheaded the multi-studio effort to rejuvenate Warzone. In an extensive interview with IGN, the duo delved into their approach, the triumph of Verdansk's Casual mode, and whether they contemplated restricting operator skins to mil-sim to recapture the essence of 2020. They also tackled the pivotal question on everyone's mind: is Verdansk here to stay?

Read on to discover more about their insights and plans for the future of *Call of Duty: Warzone*.