Warzone has been around nearly two years and although the Call of Duty battle royale remains popular today, Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff believes its time in the sun could be winding down if a ranked mode isn’t released soon.
When Warzone released in March 2020, it instantly climbed through the rankings, cementing CoD’s place among the most popular battle royales after Blackout came and went.
19 months on and it’s still one of the biggest titles on the market.
That could soon come crashing down if a few key things don’t fall into place, NICKMERCS warned in his latest YouTube upload.
Simply put, “Warzone can’t survive” without a ranked mode.
Players and content creators alike have been clamoring for a ranked component for months now. If it doesn’t arrive soon, the “longevity” of Warzone could be in jeopardy, according to NICKMERCS.
A handful of the internet’s most popular streamers jumped ship from Warzone to Apex Legends earlier this year. A large part of that decision stemmed from that desire to play in a competitive mode.
“That’s why Apex got some traction,” Nick explained during a recent stream while dropping into Verdansk for the first time in three months.
“If it wasn’t for ranked mode, I don’t think Apex would even be that crazy.”
Letting players compete at the appropriate skill level and climb their way through the rankings “can really carry a game,” he explained.
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“A good ranked mode is what keeps the longevity of a game.”
“If you want to have a game stay around for a minute, that’s all you really need, a good ranked mode.”
For now, Activision has remained silent on the possibility of a ranked experience coming to Warzone. Although Vanguard marks the start of a new era in the CoD BR, with Verdansk being replaced by a new Pacific map — something Nick himself can’t wait to experience — there’s still been no mention of the highly-requested ranked mode.
“When Call of Duty does something like this,” NICKMERCS said before correcting himself, “if they do something like this… That’s what’ll make the game [soar] and then it’ll stay.
“Then you just do your content, you let it flow, but you work on that ranked mode, you incentivize it with skins, stuff people can get.
“The blueprint is there, you’ve just got to follow it. You can put your own twist on things, but just follow the yellow brick road and you’re fine.”
Given Vanguard’s release is three weeks away and there’s no news on the ranked front, it wouldn’t be wise to hold your breath.
However, the longer players have to wait, the worse off Warzone could be from NICKMERCS’ point of view.
