Verdansk is undeniably revitalizing Call of Duty: Warzone at the perfect moment. After being declared "finished" by internet critics, the nostalgic return of Verdansk has completely reversed Warzone's fortunes. The community consensus now? "Warzone is back." While Activision had previously removed Verdansk from rotation, that detail seems irrelevant as both returning players (who recall Warzone as their pandemic-era escape) and long-term loyalists agree this iteration recaptures the magic of the game's 2020 debut. This return to fundamentals reflects a conscious design choice by Raven and Beenox developers. Warzone director Pete Actipis (Raven) and creative director Etienne Pouliot (Beenox) spearheaded the cross-studio project to revive Warzone. In their expansive IGN interview, they share behind-the-scenes details about:

• Development approaches to recapture Warzone's essence
• The unexpected popularity of Verdansk's Casual mode
• Whether they considered restricting operator skins to military-sim aesthetics
• The burning question about Verdansk's permanent status