Why is Warzone 2.0 running out of players in droves and what does the future of the Battle Royale shooter look like?
Lads, we really need to talk about Warzone 2.0. Just two months after its official release, the popular Battle Royale is running out of players en masse. Warzone 2 is at a crossroads and could be closer to the abyss than we’d like.
73 percent fewer players
The numbers speak for themselves: Call of Duty: Warzone 2 is losing its playerbase and fast – very fast.
While a record-breaking 452,093 players jumped ship via Al Mazrah at the time of release, two months later only 119,075 are still throwing themselves into battle worldwide.
👥’s 📉📉📉 = 🐛 ➡️ 🦋
– Hope (@TheGhostOfHope) January 13, 2023
About 73% of initial players have thus shelved the shooter since its release in mid-November. The figures in December 2022 are particularly shocking, with 50% of players having turned their backs on the Battle Royale.
Even if the published figures only take players on Steam into account, things might not look much better on Battle.net. As the site CharlieIntel reports, the massive loss of players over the Christmas holidays was much higher than expected by the developers.
We’ve heard from multiple people that Warzone 2’s player count dropped over the break at a higher rate than expected. Unclear what it all means for what will change at this point. Hope we get some good updates soon! 🤞
– CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) January 13, 2023
If Activision doesn’t respond, Warzone 2.0 runs the risk of becoming a virtual ghost town and joining the ranks of Battle Royale games that have fallen into obscurity, such as H1Z1 or Ring of Elysium.
What was the problem?
As a famous footballer interview has already established, people are always sure to ask afterwards what the fault was. Infinity Ward and Raven Software currently have too many construction sites to deal with in both Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.
While most of the bugs have been ironed out in MW2 by now, the Battle Royale still feels like it’s in beta in some places.
- Bugs, bugs, bugs
More and more bugs are spoiling the players’ fun in Warzone 2.0 Disappearing weapons, Buggied reconnaissance drones and Perks not working properly in addition to the still not completely fixed game crashes, make it almost impossible to finish a game undisturbed.
- Too little content
Where is the promised new content for Warzone 2? Since the release of Season 1 Reloaded in mid-December there has been no new content.
While the community is already nervously scratching its hooves and longing for new maps, weapons and game modes, we will have to wait until the official launch of Season 2 at the beginning of February so we will have to wait until then. Until then, we will have to make do with what we currently have.
- Unpopular gameplay changes
The initial decisions made by the developers to remove loadout drops from Buy Stations was far from well received. The lack of customisable perk packs also did not go down well with the community.
Although these changes have since been partially reversed, some players may have abandoned the shooter because of them.
- Missing communication
On Twitter, MW2 developer Infinity Ward in particular is currently causing negative headlines and a lack of understanding. The studio has unceremoniously deactivated the reply function for some of its tweets. Instead of involving the community with feedback and open communication, the developers are covering their eyes and ears.
Absolutely wild to me that a AAA developer studio can turn off replies to tweets like this. What is somebody to do if they still experience the issues listed here as resolved/fixed? https://t.co/pBfTpWjKjt
– Hope (@TheGhostOfHope) January 14, 2023
What does the future hold?
Warzone 2.0 is facing a deep precipice and the next step developers take will determine whether it falls or pulls away from the edge. However, the decisions made by Raven Software regarding balancing and game mechanics give hope.
Have a holly, jolly Warzone2,
It’s the best time of the year,
I don’t know if there’ll be snow,
but have a… Loadout Drop Grenade 🎁Now available at Buy Stations across Al Mazrah.
– Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) December 20, 2022
It seems like the studio has lent an ear to the community and made the right changes to get Warzone 2 back on track. Season 2 will be a defining moment and determine what the future holds for the Battle Royale shooter.
What is clear, however, is that something urgently needs to change if MW2 and Warzone 2.0 are to remain relevant until the next major CoD release in 2024.
