All signs pointed toward Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 3 starting at the end of March, but Activision announced a change of plans.

Based on the Battle Pass timer, we initially expected Season 3 to start on March 20. Fans began to get excited about the update as leaks revealed that Warzone’s original map, Verdansk, would make a long-awaited return for the first time in four years.

Some fans feared it would be a remake, but TheGhostOfHope reassured fans by confirming it would closely resemble the original version. In addition, leakers also found the names of iconic weapons from the original map, like the Grau 5.6 and HDR, in the game files.

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Activision put a damper on things by announcing a shock delay.

Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 3 gets delayed

Activision

Activision announced, “Season 03 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.”

The devs confirmed that more information about the upcoming season will be released during Warzone’s fifth anniversary next week.

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Players understand that the developers need more time before releasing an unfinished product, but they are still disappointed.

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“Would rather it be delayed than completely broken at launch, but still,” ModernWarzone responded.

“On one hand, it’s encouraging that extra time is being taken to make it better. On the other hand, this month has been the target date for over a year, and it’s not ready. I lean worried,” a second commenter added.

Given the frustrations, this delay puts more pressure on Activision to deliver. And it doesn’t help that BO6 and Warzone are experiencing issues retaining players.

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Verdansk needs to save Warzone or nothing will

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On Steam, Call of Duty had an average player count of 54,575 in February. This is the lowest since the site started tracking data in October 2022. This number only accounts for a segment of the overall player base, but CoD titles usually don’t experience a massive drop-off like this until later in a game’s life cycle.

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