Revolutionizing Modern Warfare: How Call of Duty: Warzone Could Embrace the Fortnite Formula

Fans of Call of Duty: Warzone are rightfully angered by the impending shutdown of the original game. Despite the introduction of a separate app, Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera, players will ultimately lose access to this version as well. This loss is particularly devastating for fans who have invested significant time and money into unlocking camos and purchasing cosmetics. Unfortunately, if this shutdown sets a precedent, fans may find themselves facing a similar situation in five years unless Activision changes its approach. Looking to Fortnite as a model, which has successfully evolved without requiring players to abandon their previous progress and purchases, would be an ideal solution for the future of Call of Duty: Warzone.

Call of Duty: Warzone Could Go The Route of Graphical Updates Like Fortnite

One of the reasons for the release of Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 was the outdated visuals and mechanics of the original game. The lack of a console FOV slider in Warzone caused issues, giving PC players an advantage and making console users uncomfortable. Fortunately, the Warzone 2.0 update resolved this problem, bringing the console version up to par with the PC version.

Considering this, there may not be a need for another Call of Duty: Warzone game in the future. Instead, a next-gen application with minor upgrades after five years would be sufficient. However, to ensure that the battle royale game does not appear inferior to paid titles, occasional graphical updates, following the example of Fortnite, could be the best approach.

The progress made in Fortnite since its initial release is astonishing, both in terms of gameplay mechanics and visual quality. New features such as swimming, vehicles, animal riding, and weapon crafting have been introduced over the years, accompanied by impressive graphics updates in each Fortnite chapter. Epic, with their ownership of the Unreal Engine, consistently revitalizes the game, ensuring it always feels fresh and up-to-date. Similarly, Call of Duty utilizes its own engine, except for titles developed by Treyarch. This engine, known as the IW engine, receives regular updates and enhancements. Recent leaks suggest that Treyarch will also adopt this engine for their upcoming game, aligning the entire Call of Duty franchise on one technology. This unified approach should facilitate smoother development for Call of Duty: Warzone, potentially leading to graphical improvements on par with Fortnite, with periodic updates every few years.

Considering that the original Call of Duty: Warzone incorporated outdated Black Ops Cold War skins created in Treyarch's older engine, it is reasonable to expect that older skins can be enhanced with graphical updates in future iterations of Call of Duty: Warzone. Fortnite has demonstrated the ability to consistently improve the visual quality of its cosmetics as the Island evolves, and it is imperative for Call of Duty: Warzone to adopt a similar approach. Fortunately, this approach is far superior to the alternative option. Rather than abandoning the current version of Warzone along with the skins that players have invested in, as evident in the case of Warzone Caldera, Activision has the opportunity to implement significant updates to the existing game. This way, the battle royale experience can be enhanced without forcing players to lose their diligently acquired cosmetics.

Call of Duty: Warzone is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.