Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile was one of the most anticipated games before its release. With over 50 million pre-registrations, it was supposed to become a sensation on Android and iOS. However, just a little over a year since its release, the game is being shut down.
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Image Credits: Activision
Warzone Mobile curtains, Activision says it didn’t meet expectations with mobile-first players
In a statement on the social media accounts of Warzone Mobile, Activision revealed that it will be “streamlining the scope of the game.”
“This decision was made after careful consideration of various factors and while we’re proud of the accomplishment in bringing Call of Duty: Warzone to mobile in an authentic way, it unfortunately has not met our expectations with mobile-first players like it has with PC and console audiences.”
The entire sequence of events is somewhat similar to EA’s Apex Legends Mobile, which was shut down in under a year – for pretty much the same reasons. Despite its shutdown coming before the wider release of Warzone Mobile, it seemed Activision didn’t learn much from the instance.
Failure to capture initial hype
The initial hype for Warzone Mobile was really huge, and as it competed with the industry leaders such as Free Fire and PUBG Mobile, pulling players away needed to happen as soon as the game was released. This creates a domino effect: if a few players switch, their other friends usually follow, making early adoption critical to building a loyal player base.
Warzone Mobile wasn’t able to do this effectively, primarily due to optimization issues. With a lot of bugs and issues, especially in mid to low-end devices, the game failed to leave a good first impression.
COD Mobile already had a BR mode
Furthermore, the popularity of COD Mobile didn’t help Warzone Mobile. The viability of the latter when it was first announced was questioned because COD Mobile already had a BR mode.
Nonetheless, Activision decided to invest heavily into the game, and its announcement to the global release timeline was about 2 years – meaning the game might have been in development for a bit longer than that.
COD Mobile remains an undisputed king of the FPS genre, and Call of Duty fans craving a BR experience can just use the one in the game.
Therefore, Warzone Mobile failed to leave an impression amongst the audience. The data tells the same story. Per Sensor Tower, Warzone Mobile in the US got about 600,000 downloads and earned $300,000 in revenue.
In comparison, PUBG Mobile received close to 6 million downloads and more than $42 million in revenue over the same period in the US.
With these stats, the shutdown of the game isn’t the biggest surprise.
What’s next for Warzone Mobile?
Image Credits: Activision
Currently, players can no longer make in-game purchases, while May 18 will be the last day you can download the game through the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store.
Finally, on May 19, only the players who had the game installed can continue playing it. There are also special incentives for players who want to move to COD Mobile.
Activision hasn’t said when the servers will be shut down. However, down the line, that is likely to happen as well.
FAQs
Can I still play Warzone Mobile after May 18, 2025?
Yes, but only if you have the game installed before May 19. Matchmaking and existing content will remain accessible for those users.
Can I still buy COD Points or new content?
No. As of now, all real-money purchases, including COD Points and Black Cell, have been disabled in Warzone Mobile.
What happens to my unspent COD Points?
You can still redeem unspent COD Points on in-game content. Activision is also offering incentives for players to transition to Call of Duty: Mobile.
When will the Warzone Mobile servers be shut down?
Activision hasn’t said if and when this will happen.