Just like any other immensely popular battle royale game, Call of Duty: Warzone has evolved a lot in the five years since its debut. Each new Call of Duty annual entry brings a bevy of new weapons and mechanical changes to Warzone, usually along with a new map to boot. But unlike contemporaries such as Apex Legends, when a new battle royale map comes to C all of Duty: Warzone it replaces the previous one completely.
Across its battle royale and Resurgence modes, Call of Duty: Warzone has had a total of 10 maps. Just three of these maps have been lucky enough to return from the vault, with Verdansk and Rebirth Island still in the midst of their comeback. But if a new Easter egg is to be believed, another classic Call of Duty: Warzone map might be making its return soon, and its reappearance could open a door that Warzone might not be able to close again.
Call of Duty: Warzone's Vondel Map Tease Explained
All the way back in August 2020, Call of Duty: Warzone's Verdansk Stadium opened up for the very first time. It didn't take long for players to uncover an Easter egg in the new building, one that saw them collecting keycards, deciphering a code, and entering a secret room to earn an exclusive AMAX weapon blueprint.
Five years later, Call of Duty: Warzone's Verdansk Stadium has just opened up once again, and that same Easter egg is waiting there ready to be completed one more time. But this time, players have noticed a new detail in the Stadium's secret room.
First found and posted by Reddit user xamanois, Verdansk Stadium's secret room now features a graphic on its wall that closely resembles the overhead layout of Vondel, a Warzone map that was introduced in June 2023 and removed in November 2024. Though the sizes of the buildings seem to have been tweaked, the overall look of the map is unmistakably similar to Vondel. Many fans believe this is a tease that Vondel is returning to Call of Duty: Warzone in the near future.
Bringing Back Vondel Might Open a Pandora's Box For Call of Duty: Warzone
Though it's not nearly as renowned as Verdansk, Vondel does frequently find itself at the top of many fans' best maps in Call of Duty: Warzone lists. Vondel's POIs were memorable, the map's layout was unique, and its Netherlands-inspired architecture and environmental design left a strong impression. There's no doubt Vondel deserves another shot in the spotlight, but its potential reappearance might open the floodgates for fan expectations.
Verdansk, Rebirth Island, and Fortune's Keep were all brought back from the grave, but up until now, most fans haven't really expected any of Warzone's other maps to return. If Vondel does come back, many fans might expect a few other fan favorites to return later down the line. Ashika Island, for instance, is often seen as Vondel's more chaotic sibling, and it would only be a matter of time before some fans would expect its return as well.
In an ideal world, Call of Duty: Warzone would feature a map rotation system like Apex Legends, with players being able to cycle through all of Warzone's past maps at will. But given the already gigantic file size of Warzone with just its two current maps, that seems like more of a pipe dream than ever before. But for now, seeing some classic maps return one at a time will have to do.
Call of Duty: Warzone
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 78%
- Released
- March 10, 2020
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Infinity Ward, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- IW 8.0 & IW 9.0 (Warzone 2.0)
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter, Battle Royale
