Call of Duty: Warzone Drops Back Into Verdansk With Limited Time Mode, Exclusive Rewards, and Black Ops 6 Free Trial

Activision, Treyarch, and Raven Software have detailed a special Return to Verdansk event and free trial period that will coincide with the launch of the original Call of Duty: Warzone map next week.

The team behind the current iteration of the massively popular military shooter battle royale experience shared everything players could ever want to know about Verdansk’s revival today. Included with a breakdown of all new and returning features, locations, modes, and more was a schedule for the Return to Verdansk event, which includes an ammo crate filled with rewards to earn from launch on April 3 to April 15.

Activision is calling its limited-time event a “celebration” of the return to the open-world map that started it all. It includes 12 unique zones to explore in Battle Royale and Plunder modes, each with safes to crack and exclusive rewards to obtain. Most goodies come in the form of loading screens, sprays, emotes, finishing moves, etc., but there is a rare chance that your hidden safe will grant access to an Operator skin completely unique to the Return to Verdansk event. Acquiring all 12 rewards also gifts players the freedom to use one of Modern Warfare 2019’s most infamous melee tools: the Kali Sticks.

Thankfully, if you’re the kind of player who can’t sink in the time to loot all 12 safes and try for that rare skin, you’ll be happy to know all players earn six free rewards simply for logging in. They are as follows: Kilo 141 (primary weapon), Domino (Warzone Operator), Mil-Sim USEF (Warzone Operator), Blue Legacy (Contrail for Verdansk Veterans), Coming Home (Parachute for Verdansk veterans), Like We Never Left (Gunscreen for Verdansk veterans).

Weapons Free

Call of Duty: Warzone’s return to Verdansk is more than just a simple retread. The OG map’s reintroduction marks a significant moment for longtime fans and Activision, so it makes sense that the publisher wants to see as many players get in on the fun as possible.

As Warzone launches into its most significant seasonal update in years, players will be allowed to access all Premium Black Ops 6 content for 24 hours starting on April 2 at 9:00 a.m. PT. That means unlimited access to Zombies and Multiplayer modes and a whole day to unlock a treasure trove of rewards that can be carried over to Warzone. It’s an access period that launches alongside Season 3 that same day, meaning all trial players can enjoy the full experience of the update at no extra cost.

The trade here is that Warzone will be down from April 2 – 3 as the team welcomes Verdansk in and sees Urzikstan out. Once the downtime ends, though, it’s back to Atlas Superstore, Stadium, Gora Dam, and more on console and PC for the first time since 2021. For more on all things Call of Duty, you can read up on how Activision is battling cheaters to help prepare for Verdansk’s return to Warzone.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).