Season 3 of Call of Duty Black Ops 6 has been shaping up to be a big one – but ironically, it's more so for its free-to-play brother, Warzone, as the long-awaited return of its day-one map Verdansk seems likely to happen at the start of the season. However, in a surprise announcement, Activision has announced that Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 3 has been delayed by two weeks.
It's rare – but not unheard of – for new seasons in Call of Duty games to be delayed. when the very first season of Black Ops Cold War was pushed back? I do. But with expectations for the return of Verdansk to Warzone. Activision hasn't revealed a specific date for Verdansk yet, but it has confirmed that the remake of the original map will arrive this spring. Credible leakers have suggested that the start of Season 3 is when it'll drop. Plus, Warzone's fifth anniversary was set to fall just before the start of the season.
So, as you can see, everything is pointing towards the Black Ops 6 Season 3 release date being the day that Verdansk returns. According to the Season 2 battle timer, that was meant to be Thursday, March 20. However, this will now be pushed back by two weeks.
"Season 3 is a big moment for Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops 6, and we're taking the time to deliver a great experience," Activision says in a post on social media. It also confirms that the new release date for Warzone and Black Ops 6 Season 3 is Thursday, April 3.
While any delay is disappointing, it is thankfully just for a couple of weeks. Call of Duty is still immensely popular, and swathes of fans continue to play BO6 and Warzone every day, but in recent months it has seen player counts drop significantly (on Steam, at least) and there's been a lot of resentment from the community over its anti-cheat efforts. Season 3 was gearing up to be a chance for some redemption and a huge spike in interest with Verdansk set to come back.
Fortnite's player count hit a record high when it injected a big dose of nostalgia with its Fortnite OG experience, recreating the map and conditions of the game when it first came out. Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, and several other free-to-play shooters have also pulled off similar stunts to varying degrees of success. But this moment could potentially be huge for Call of Duty.
Assuming Season 3 does indeed include Verdansk's return, it seems Activision is ensuring the experience is as flawless and slick as possible for this momentous occasion – even if that means messing with the sacred scheduling of its seasons. It says that more info on Season 3 is coming next week as part of Warzone's fifth birthday celebrations, so I highly suspect that we'll get confirmation of Verdansk being the headline feature as well as some reasoning as to why it had to bump the season back.
At least this delay gives you a bit more time to level up your favorite battle royale games to try.
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