It seems that Verdansk has done its job for Call of Duty: Warzone.
TheGhostOfHope shared this update on Twitter:
“REPORT: Activision/Raven Software are excited with the numbers they’ve seen for players returning and playing Warzone after the launch of Verdansk. The update has exceeded expectations.
Xbox Game Pass/PS Store numbers are “off the charts” compared to what they were. They have even seen an uplift in BO6 sales and downloads because of the update.
They are talking about showing more restraint with Warzone for skins/bundles/microtransactions. Crossovers are “printing money” but they hear the criticism that the game is starting to look stupid.”
He further explained that he doesn’t think that Activision is ending crossovers in Call of Duty. But they aren’t going to be chasing the same kind of fandom that Fortnite has generated as something of an ultimate crossover. Future crossovers will be more in line with what kinds of characters would fit in the world of Call of Duty, and would actually be welcomed by the players.
One certainly wonders why Microsoft hasn’t made an official announcement, but it may be that they don’t see this update to be that important. It’s also possible that as good as Verdansk has done, it hasn’t had the kind of success that would warrant spending the money and effort on a press release. But maybe it’s just that they’re still collecting the data before they can get that celebration video finished and off the ground.
It’s certainly vindication for the game studios, who have been receiving no end of criticism from content creators and some high-level players. In the back and forth between the two that leads to a lot of social noise online, it’s kind of hard to tell if some of the criticism is genuine, or if it’s being powered by players who may not be on the level. If these claims are true, this is once again a situation where a vocal minority of gamers is creating a narrative that doesn’t actually match the reality as the developers see it.
This is all great news in light of the clock running on what is expected to be this year’s Call of Duty getting announced. And of course, we imagine that Microsoft will finally start making good on their ten year contract to bring Call of Duty games to Nintendo platforms. But most of all, it’s reassuring for Call of Duty: Warzone’s players that this battle royale mode that’s developed a following of its own is going to keep going, at least in the near future.
