Call of Duty Warzone was first released in March 2020 and it quickly became an overnight sensation. As a totally free-to-play battle royale game, Warzone captured the attention of tens of millions of players, giving them a platform to share with friends, family, and enemies alike. It was a fantastic time, and in November 2022, a follow-up – Warzone 2.0 – was released. Now, we’re taking a look at the state of the entire ecosystem, finding out what the Warzone players count looks like midway through 2023.
It has been a tough time of late for Call of Duty in general, but specifically for the Warzone ecosystem. Since Warzone 2.0 was released in November 2022, it has suffered immeasurably from cheaters, bugs, stability issues, and a general disinterest from the community. In March 2023, the Warzone players count reached an all-time low, and the figure just kept on dropping. There’s no big secret that fans miss Verdansk from the first Warzone game, and Warzone 2.0’s Al Mazrah just doesn’t hit the same.
So, how many players play Warzone in 2023? Let’s find out.
Warzone’s Player Count is Declining
It’s tough to get a representative figure of how many players are playing Warzone at any given moment, but there are ways to make an educated estimation. For instance, platforms like ActivePlayer.io always seem to have a clear figure of player counts, but it’s not known exactly where that data comes from – is it just an estimation?
At the time of publishing, ActivePlayer.io claims that there are 362,577 players in Call of Duty Warzone. However, it isn’t stated clearly whether that’s just Warzone or if it’s Warzone 2.0. There’s no sign that the page has been updated for quite some time, and there’s even a mention of ‘Block ops’ as a clear misspelling of ‘Black Ops’. So, it’s safe to say that we won’t be trusting that data as a source.
But, if we use tangible data – such as that found on the Steam Database and on Twitch Tracker, we can get an example of how Warzone 2.0 is performing in terms of player count. For instance, according to Steam’s data, the Warzone players count has been steadily decreasing since November 2022, when Warzone 2.0 was released. Back then, there was an average monthly player count of 223,897 players on Steam alone, but in the last thirty days (May 2023), that number has dwindled to just 73,000 – a 67% decrease.
On Twitch Tracker, we can see that the overall viewership of Call of Duty Warzone has dropped dramatically. On April 21st, 2021 there was a monumental peak of 1,613,626 viewers – a massive number for any game. But, in the month of May 2023, the peak viewership was recorded at just 120,000 users. That’s a decline of more than 90%.
Is Warzone’s Player Count Doomed?
There’s almost nothing that can save the Warzone ecosystem at the moment. Even the World Series of Warzone – the top-tier esports tournament on the platform – is in jeopardy. For the most part, fans want to return to Verdansk, the original Warzone map. It’s not something that would make them forgive how much the Warzone platform has suffered since Caldera was introduced in December 2021, but it may go some way in terms of reparations.
In 2023, an all-new Call of Duty game will be released – Modern Warfare III. There are claims that a brand-new Warzone map will surface with this game, named Las Almas. It’s a South American-themed map that players can actually experience in the Modern Warfare II campaign. If it’s delivered in an acceptable manner and relatively bug-free, then it could save Warzone.
At the moment, other battle royale games and alternatives to Call of Duty are taking over. For instance, Apex Legends and Fortnite remain strong while the Warzone platform flounders. It’ll take a gargantuan effort to bring the Warzone players count back up again, but the developers seem determined, so let’s allow them to cook and see what happens when the next game launches.
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