Call of Duty: Warzone was a smashing success when it first launched a few years ago. It was the Call of Duty franchise’s first foray into creating a free-to-play battle royale shooter, and it remained as popular as you would expect a Call of Duty title to be. When Call of Duty: Warzone 2 was released just a few weeks ago, publisher Activision Blizzard decided to take the original Warzone offline. This was to ensure that Warzone 2 could be supported fully during its launch period by developer Raven Software. Considering the number of bugs and glitches players have found, this seems like a wise decision. However, the original Warzone has now been brought back online under the name Caldera.
The original Call of Duty: Warzone can now be played under the name Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera. This is great news for players who still want to play the original experience, but it comes with some hefty caveats. Warzone Caldera only has the map in its title now, and the only remaining modes are quads and solos for battle royale. To make matters more disappointing, players cannot access old or current battle passes for Call of Duty, meaning that there is no route toward earning progression there. Instead, players will only be able to unlock content that is locked to Warzone Caldera. It also does not have store functionality, but the publisher has confirmed that COD Points can be transferred to Warzone 2.
When it comes to gameplay, there are some reductions to the small maps as well. Both Fortune’s Keep and Rebirth Island have been removed, and the publisher has not announced any plans to bring back the original Warzone map, Verdansk. Considering the fact that Warzone 2 does not have any small maps either at the moment, this will likely be a disappointment to some Call of Duty players. Players who want to hop back into the game will find that Warzone Caldera now exists as a content pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), and that will require 89 GB of free space to install.
On a more positive note, Activision-Blizzard is thanking its original Warzone players by providing some items that can be used in Warzone 2. It seems like the publisher is doing what it can to encourage Warzone players to make the jump to Warzone 2. That said, preserving the original game, even in the reduced content state it is in, is likely to be appreciated by fans.
Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera is available now across PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
