A new report from leaker and reporter The Ghost of Hope paints a sorry picture for Call of Duty: Warzone, with its future reportedly hinging on the success of Verdansk’s return in season three of Black Ops 6.
A few years ago, this would’ve sounded impossible, but Warzone’s constant unpopular changes over the past few years coupled with some new games directly competing with it makes it seem plausible. And situations like these always seem fluid, but still, take this news with a grain of salt.
The news came from Hope’s latest exclusive report, this time about Infinity Ward’s next CoD title, which is coming in 2026 and tentatively thought of as Modern Warfare 4. Hope states that there will be “no ‘Warzone 3‘ if Verdansk fails to retain current/returning players,” painting a bleak last hope for the battle royale mode.
Warzone has been torn apart from within by hackers over the past couple of years, ruining the experience for many. The situation has gotten so bad with cheaters, bugs, and glitches, that season two of BO6 featured scant new Warzone content as Raven Software instead took the time to work on fixing the game’s quality of life problems instead.
To make matters worse, the assumed return of Verdansk to Warzone and the launch of season three has been delayed two weeks from its tentative start date of March 20 and will now kick off on April 3. Data miners say that season three will also include classic Warzone weapons and features to further hook players to come back.
“Season three is a big moment for Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops 6, and we’re taking the time to deliver a great experience starting on April 3,” Activision said, seemingly lending further legitimacy to Hope’s report that the game really needs to nail this next big content drop. Activision teased “more to come following Call of Duty: Warzone’s fifth anniversary next week” on March 10.
Elsewhere in the franchise’s future, according to Hope, CoD 2026 will leave PS4 and Xbox One behind, while also featuring a “traditional” UI like earlier games in the franchise. BO6’s CoD HQ UI has been an improvement on the past few years, but a return to form would still be welcomed.
Hope also said that the 2026 game’s engine is “being overhauled to address MWII problems like ‘visual clutter,’” and it is also being developed on dev kits for the next Xbox console, meaning that the new generation could be coming as soon as 2026.
Season three and Verdansk’s return definitely seems like a big moment in CoD’s franchise, and if it will decide whether or not Warzone will continue on as a free-to-play BR game, it may potentially be its biggest moment ever.
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