Warzone devs confirm map rotation is in the works: “We all want that”

Brad Norton
Warzone gameplay

Warzone developers have confirmed that a map rotation is in the works, with the goal of transitioning between Caldera and Verdansk their top priority. However, “insane” technical issues appear to be holding them back for now.

In the two years since Warzone’s release, a maximum of two maps have ever been in focus at the same time. While Verdansk came first, the smaller Rebirth Island soon landed alongside it. Since then, we’ve seen Caldera outright replace the original battle royale map, for better or worse.

Rather than simply coexisting, as multiple maps do in plenty of rival games like Apex Legends and PUBG, Warzone instead opted to feature just one regular-sized landscape at a time.

Naturally, many have called on Warzone’s devs to backtrack on this stance and allow for a standard map rotation feature.

It now appears that’s exactly what the teams under Activision’s banners are hoping to achieve. It turns out, we may have had such a feature already if not for some “insane” technical issues.

caldera map roads

In regards to map rotation in Warzone, Creative Lead Josh Bridge assured the dev team wants it just as much as the game’s most dedicated players. “We want that. We all want that,” he told CoD legend TeeP during a March 23 Q&A.

The reason it hasn’t happened already, boils down to a “technical problem,” he explained. “The install and reinstall sizes [are] f***ing crazy. It’s insane.

“If we pulled out Caldera and said, ok, we’re gonna drop in Verdansk, this could essentially be redownloading the size of Warzone.”

Given Warzone’s current file size, one that often grows with each seasonal content drop, devs have obviously been looking to avoid any extra downloads.

Each time there’s been a sizeable patch to download in recent months, Warzone has “lost players,” Bridge admitted.

Rest assured though, a solution to this file size issue has been in the works to allow for map rotation in Warzone.

“That’s where we have been putting a lot more effort into,” Bridge continued. “How do we sort that on a technical level so we can have that rotation? We’ve been really looking at it.”

While he was hesitant to provide any concrete details at this stage, the feature could be arriving sooner than later. “We’ll have more to talk about,” he said.

One potential idea that was floated during the conversation was that of a “seasonal map rotation.” While both Verdansk and Caldera may not be accessible at the same time, this possible solution could help keep Warzone “fresh” in the long run.

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About The Author

Brad Norton is the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. He graduated from Swinburne University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has been working full-time in the field for the past six years at the likes of Gamurs Group and now Dexerto. He loves all things single-player gaming (with Uncharted a personal favorite) but has a history on the competitive side having previously run Oceanic esports org Mindfreak. You can contact Brad at brad.norton@dexerto.com