MW3's campaign features Verdansk far more than expected. So much so that a remaster of the BR map feels imminent. You can find screenshots of MW3's Verdansk, and new lore details, below.
The Modern Warfare 3 campaign was released on November 2, 2023, and it was largely underwhelming (find out why in our MW3 review). But there is one aspect of the campaign that is sure to create a lot of excitement: Verdansk features heavily. The setting of the first Warzone map is relevant to the story of MW3, and a number of missions take place there.
As a leaker by the name of "Ghost of Hope" put it after finishing the campaign:
This isn't spoilery tbh so I'm just gonna say it but if you don't think Verdansk is coming back after playing/watching this campaign then you're being gaslit.
And it's hard to disagree. It's not like Verdansk is merely referenced a few times in the MW3 campaign, you go there constantly. In fact, it would almost be weird if we didn't get a Verdansk remake in Warzone after this campaign.
You can find screenshots of every region in Verdansk that features in MW3 below. There are quite a number. There is also a prediction of the Verdansk release date, and new lore to be enjoyed.
Verdansk In Modern Warfare 3
Verdansk appears in many different cut-scenes throughout MW3, but you can physically go to a number of regions that they've rebuilt for this campaign. These regions include Military Base, Dam and Downtown, check them out below.
Military Base from "Deep Cover" (Mission 5)
This is Mil-Base, which you infiltrate stealthily as Laswell.
It felt very strange being back in Mil-Base, sadly you don't get to roam very far off the path in this mission.
Downtown from "Flashpoint" (Mission 8)
This is how Downtown looks, you go there in a flashback missions set four years before the events of MW3.
It's a lot more vibrant than the OG Verdansk, which was admittedly quite drab.
Stadium from "Flashpoint" (Mission 8)
The flashback mission to Verdansk involves a terrorist attack at Stadium, which we saw in the trailer.
This terrorist attack is not to be confused with the nuke that destroyed Downtown Verdansk in 2020. That event is still technically canon, but in this timeline it seems they were simply able to rebuild the destroyed area.
Verdansk Tactical Map from "Gora Dam" (Mission 12)
Later in the MW3 campaign you go to Dam, but before the mission begins we see a full view of the original Tac-Map in one of the cut-scenes.
If Verdansk is remastered in Modern Warfare 3, and not with the next game, that would mean we're getting Fortune's Keep, Rebirth Island and Verdansk, all in the same year.
Dam from "Gora Dam" (Mission 12)
This is a view of Verdansk from above, pictured in one of the later Open Combat Missions. I went right to the border of the playable area and looked at the other POIs and buildings further into Verdansk, it looks like they've faithfully recreated the Year 1 version of Warzone's Verdansk.
New Verdansk Lore
SPOILER ALERT
As well as just playing in Verdansk, we also learned a lot about the city and its history via cutscenes. Here is a timeline of Verdansk according to Modern Warfare III:
- Makerov led a terrorist attack on the Verdansk stadium in 2019, four years before the events of MW3. Many civilians died but Makerov was successfully apprehended by Task Force 141.
- In the present day, Task Force 141 capture General Shepherd, who it's implied was trying to make a deal with the Makerov. He reveals that Makerov is planning to destroy Verdansk again.
- Ghost and Soap stop Makerov's attempt to destroy Verdansk by defusing all the bombs planted at Dam.
- At the end of the campaign Makarov escapes but Verdansk is safe.
Call of Duty's wider storyline is ridiculously convoluted at this point. But since Warzone's release they've tried to unify all of their games into the same universe, and so we don't expect this version of Verdansk's history to be radically overturned in next year's Black Ops Gulf War.
When Could Verdansk Be Released?
If it is remastered, Verdansk probably won't be released until mid-December 2024, when Season 1 of the next Call of Duty game launches. It's safe to assume we wouldn't get a big map like Verdansk any earlier than December because they've been rigidly following the same content release schedule in Warzone for years. There is a chance that they give us a new big map "early", in one of the mid-year seasonal updates, but that's a lot of work. Still, they have Microsoft backing them now, so who knows?
There is so much in this campaign that screams "remember Verdansk" at you that I really can't imagine them not bringing it back, and we know how much Call of Duty love to remaster old maps. It's really more a question of when rather than if.