Activision has chosen to shut down the mobile component of Call of Duty Warzone.
The first Call of Duty: Warzone was released in 2020, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. This was the Call of Duty franchise’s first intrusion into free-to-play, and while Activision’s studios continued to iterate, they seemed committed to keep the game and its community going. Activision rebooted Call of Duty: Warzone in 2022, and then in 2024, they released Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile.
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile mirrors all the classic game modes that mainline Call of Duty games has, and even had cross progression with the 2022 version of Call of Duty: Warzone, as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II & III and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
While Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile’s higher scope meant that it can only be played in more high-end phones and tablets, Activision still had high hopes that the kinds of high rollers that bought those devices would play these games. It is also presumably a gateway drug to get new players to play Call of Duty, potentially also coming in on consoles or PC.
The official Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile Twitter account announced that they would end updates on support for the game, but they would keep the servers online. It will also no longer be possible to download the game on new devices, or buy in-game items. Cross progression between Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile and the Call of Duty games on PC and console will also stay active.
This news comes a year and a half after Activision cancelled Call of Duty’s DMZ extraction shooter mode. This was also free-to-play, found in Call of Duty: Warzone but not the mobile version. While we’re sure DMZ and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile have fans who genuinely enjoyed these games and modes, we should remember that Activision mainly makes them with a financial incentive. Activision explained their rationale to end support for the game:
This decision was made after careful consideration of various factors and while we’re proud of the accomplishment in bringing Call of Duty: Warzone to mobile in an authentic way, it unfortunately has not met our expectations with mobile-first players like it has with PC and console audiences.
It’s possible that Activision makes another Call of Duty mobile experience in the future. Or, they may be happy enough to stick with TiMi’s Call of Duty Mobile, a different game made for the ground up for mobile, and playable for older and lower performance devices. Microsoft’s increasing push for cloud gaming may also be a factor in this decision. But for now, this seems to be the end of the line.
