Are you still playing Warzone? (Activision)There are signs of Call Of Duty losing significant numbers of players, which could encourage Activision to abandon plans for Warzone 3.It was a big deal when Activision first released free-to-play battle royale Call Of Duty: Warzone in 2020. Although everything about the game had leaked ahead of its reveal, that did little to dull excitement amongst fans, with the game attracting six million players in only one day.In 2023, Warzone was shut down and replaced by its successor, Warzone 2.0 (which Activision now just calls Warzone) but the attempt to reset the games popularity has not really worked as planned.According to the latest rumours (which include claims of the 2026 Call Of Duty being made for the next gen Xbox), if the next season of content doesnt turn the games fortunes around then Activision will ditch its plans for a Warzone 3.Is Call Of Duty: Warzone being shut down?In case youre thinking, Wait, theres going to be a Call Of Duty: Warzone 3?, Activision has not said anything about it officially. However, its something fans have suspected is happening for the last couple of months.Back in January, datamining efforts by X user CODWarfareForum uncovered references to a Warzone 3 (apparently codenamed REX) within Warzones files, alongside references to Call Of Duty 2026, which is speculated to be Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.As such, the running theory is that a new iteration of Warzone is planned to launch alongside the 2026 game. However, Call Of Duty insider GhostOfHope says that whether this new Warzone happens hinges on the current Warzones next update.Season three of Warzone and Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 is going to be an important one, since it will mark the return of the original Verdansk map. As a reminder, this was the map Warzone debuted with in 2020, but it was destroyed in-game and replaced with a new map in 2021.Ever since, players have been clamouring for it to come back and, last year, Activision announced it would do so in spring 2025, no doubt emboldened by the nostalgia driven success of Fortnite OG.The plan was for season three to arrive on March 20 (since thats when season twos battle pass expires), but Activision has opted to hold the update and Verdansk back for an extra couple of weeks.Season 03 is a big moment for Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops 6, and were taking the time to deliver a great experience starting on April 3, reads an X post from the Call Of Duty account.At the very least, this shows Activision considers the update an important one and wants to make sure its as good as it can possibly be, to please current players and win back those who dropped Warzone.If Activision does opt to ditch Warzone 3 though, its unclear if this will lead to Warzone as it is being shut down or if the game will continue but with less support.While it is possible that the current Warzone may be shut down thats not apocalyptic as it sounds and it has happened before, when they switched from the original game to Warzone 2.0.Warzone was not even the first Call Of Duty battle royale and just as Warzone took over from Blackout its more than likely Warzone will be replaced with something else rather than Activision abandoning the concept altogether.Why is Call Of Duty: Warzone losing players?Theres not one singular reason for Warzones drop in popularity but according to GhostOfHope the game continues to see diminishing returns, arguing that its inability to retain players consistently makes it difficulty for Activision to justify spending resources on it.Apart from anything else, Call Of Duty has always had persistent issues with cheaters, which has only got worse over time, despite Activisions genuine attempts to address the issue.More TrendingTheres also been a general sense of frustration with Call Of Duty thanks to expensive microtransactions, such as the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles skins, and its use of AI.While there are no public figures for player numbers on consoles, theres certainly evidence of a dwindling player base on PC. While Steam Charts doesnt provide specific numbers for Warzones player count, it does show that the Call Of Duty launcher (which supports multiple games) has attracted an average of about 53,684 players in the last 30 days.Thats the lowest the average player count has ever been and is shocking for a series that, at its peak, was drawing in hundreds of thousands of players.By comparison, Marvel Rivals is stomping it with an average of 222,543 players, while Apex Legends (which Warzone used to regularly beat when it launched) has an average of 94,776 players. Not as high as Marvel Rivals but still far more thanCall Of Duty is managing at the moment. Maybe crossovers arent the answer to Call Of Dutys player woes (Activision)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy