Call of Duty: Warzone to drop PS4 and Xbox One support later this year

At a glance:

• Call of Duty: Warzone will stop working on PS4 and Xbox One after season 6 of Black Ops 7 concludes later this year.
• The game will be delisted from PlayStation and Xbox stores on June 4th, with the in-game store closing on June 25th.
• Modern Warfare 4 launches simultaneously on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and Nintendo Switch 2 as Activision pushes current-gen adoption.

The End of an Era for Legacy Consoles

Activision is pulling the plug on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Call of Duty: Warzone, marking a significant shift in the franchise's platform support. The changes will take effect after season 6 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 wraps up later this year, forcing players on older hardware to either upgrade or abandon the game entirely.

The timeline for the transition is precise: Warzone will be removed from PS4 and Xbox One digital storefronts on June 4th, 2024. Following that, the in-game store for these platforms will shut down on June 25th. Once Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's first season begins later in the year, the game will no longer be playable on PS4 or Xbox One, effectively ending support for seventh-generation consoles.

This decision comes at a challenging time for players still using older hardware. Both Sony and Microsoft have significantly increased console prices over the past year, with the PS5 and Xbox Series X now retailing for $150 more than their original $499 launch prices. For many fans, the cost of upgrading has become a barrier to continued participation in the Warzone community.

A New Era of Cross-Platform Play

The announcement coincides with the reveal of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, the next mainline entry in the franchise. This title will launch exclusively on current-generation platforms: PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and notably, Nintendo Switch 2. It represents the first Call of Duty game to appear on Nintendo's latest console, a milestone made possible through a 10-year partnership between Microsoft and Nintendo as part of Microsoft's broader Activision Blizzard acquisition.

The inclusion of Switch 2 in Modern Warfare 4's release lineup signals Activision's commitment to expanding the franchise's reach. While the Switch 2 will host the new title, the decision to drop PS4 and Xbox One support for Warzone underscores the industry's push toward more powerful hardware capable of delivering advanced graphics and larger-scale multiplayer experiences.

Critics argue that this move accelerates the gap between casual and hardcore players, as economic pressures make upgrading increasingly difficult. However, the shift also allows developers to optimize for newer hardware, potentially improving performance and introducing features that were impossible on older systems.

What This Means for the Community

The removal of Warzone from legacy consoles will fragment the player base, potentially reducing matchmaking pools and increasing wait times for older hardware users. Many players have expressed concerns about the timing, given the recent price hikes for next-gen consoles.

Despite the controversy, the transition appears inevitable as part of the natural lifecycle of gaming hardware. Activision's strategy reflects a broader industry trend of prioritizing current-generation capabilities while phasing out support for aging platforms. The success of this approach will likely depend on how smoothly the transition is managed and whether alternative solutions, such as cloud gaming or discounted upgrade paths, are offered to affected players.