What was Warzone’s Nuke Event? Old map destroyed & Verdansk ’84 reveal

Liam Mackay
Warzone nuke event season 2 season 3

Following Warzone’s Nuke Event, Verdansk has been destroyed. Cold War and Warzone Season 3 and Verdansk ’84 are now live, so here’s how it all went down.

Warzone Season 3 is now live. It’s brought new weapons, Operators, and most excitingly, a new Warzone map.

Due to leaks and rumors, many believed that Verdansk would be destroyed at the end of Season 2. This turned out to be true, and after a two-stage live event in-game, Season 3 has launched, and Warzone has traveled back in time to Verdansk 84.

Here’s a full recap of the Warzone Season 3 Nuke Event, explaining why it happened and how it went down.

Warzone Season 2 nuke event

Why did Verdansk get nuked?

It had been long leaked and theorized that a nuke would destroy Verdansk. The Tactical Nuke has long been a staple in the Modern Warfare franchise, first being a major plot point in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and then being the ultimate Killstreak to earn in-game from MW2 onwards.

Nukes were seemingly missing in Warzone until the mysterious bunkers opened in May 2020. Bunker 11 required players to complete an easter egg to access it, and a nuclear bomb was discovered inside.

Since the nuke was discovered, players have been waiting to see how it would impact the game. Many expected a nuke to hit Verdansk and usher in a new map, and Season 2’s launch made it all the more likely.

CoD Warzone Zombies

At the beginning of Season 2, missile silos appeared beneath memorials around Verdansk, and a mysterious ship, the Vodianoy, crash-landed on the shore between Prison and Port. Zombies were aboard this ship, and they ravaged location after location until they reached Dam, where “Verdansk was all but gone to the damned.”

In the final week, Radiation Zones surrounded the areas which Zombies had visited. If players died inside these zones, they would come back as Zombies, similar to the Haunting of Verdansk event.

The Zombie threat was too great, so Operators (players) were deployed to Verdansk to contain the threat, but they failed. To save the world, Verdansk was nuked.

Warzone Season 3 Nuke Event Part 1 recap

After a season-long Zombie outbreak, it culminated in the nuking of Verdansk. This was a live event in-game, where players played an active part in Verdansk’s final moments.

After a playlist update on April 21, all modes were replaced with “The Destruction of Verdansk Part 1.” Queuing into this playlist would bring players into what appeared to be a regular match of Warzone, but with several important twists.

The Black Ops’ Zombies theme tune blared over the mode, and all the Radiation Zones were active. Rather than a Pistol, players also dropped in with a Shotgun, and there were only SMGs and other Shotguns to be found on the map.

As the gas cloud brought players towards Dam, those that perished along the way came back as Zombies. These Zombies had the goal of preventing the living from leaving, and those still alive had to get out.

Once the exfil was ready, those still alive had to board the helicopter over Dam’s frozen lake and escape. After that, cutscene began which showed a nuke fly towards Verdansk and destroy the map.

https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1384971493629693955

In the aftermath, the battle royale action took place on nighttime Rebirth Island. This mode took place 15 minutes after Verdasnk was destroyed, and players could see the mushroom cloud and fallout in the distance.

The second part of the event was scheduled for April 22.

Warzone Season 3 Nuke Event Part 2 recap

While players waited for the second stage of the Nuke Event, Season 3 officially began and Verdansk ’84 was revealed.

Superstore in Verdansk 84

Following Verdansk’s destruction, Warzone was set to head back to the 1980s to continue the mission to rescue Russel Adler for the Hunt for Adler event. A celebrity commercial showcased some new areas of the map and a teaser site revealed some of the changed locations.

After a full day of Verdansk being gone, another playlist update hit Warzone, and players were instructed to “Return to Rebirth Island IMMEDIATELY.”

The “Destruction of Verdansk Part 2” playlist went live, and players had to play a ‘capture the flag’ style game mode on Rebirth Island, with teams duking it out to be the one to destroy Verdansk.

Once the winning player, or team, had detonated the nuke, a cutscene played. This showcased the nuke hitting Verdansk, but then time rewound all the way back to 1984.

Players then seamlessly deployed into the new Warzone map, Verdansk ’84, which brought classic locations such as Summit and Standoff, as well as a brand-new Gulag.


That’s everything that happened in Warzone’s Nuke Event! The new map, Verdansk ’84, is now live, but Activision has confirmed that the original Verdansk will not be playable again.

What do you think of the new Verdansk ’84 map? Be sure to let us know on our Charlie INTEL Facebook Page and Charlie INTEL Twitter Page!

Image Credit: Activision / Rojal via pngall.com