Call of Duty Goes Open Source as Activision Blizzard Commit to the Future of Gaming

Activision, the creator of Call of Duty, goes generous as it decides to contribute to the knowledge base of the gaming industry. Developers can now use the open-source data set to work on new ideas and maybe create something better and more immersive.

But then again, there is a catch. It’s for non-commercial use and developers cannot sell their works if they have leveraged Caldera’s open-source data set. But maybe Activision will keep a tab on those creations, maybe they’ll get some ideas or pick some to implement. There are so many maybes.

Developers Get to Learn But Then That’s the End of the Story

The map might not have been able to bring the magic Verdansk once had in Call of Duty, but it may help bring some in the future. Maybe Activision won’t be nuking maps if fans come to develop a liking for them.

The creators of Call of Duty revealed that they are going open-source with the 2021 map and resources for developers will be available for free. They took the announcement to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) too.

The release of a new open-source data set, features the map Caldera from Call of Duty: Warzone for non-commercial use. This data set release contains near-complete geometry of Caldera and in-game character pathing. Read more 👇 pic.twitter.com/CyQ8FwOm0A

— Activision (@Activision) July 30, 2024

When the Fellow Software Engineer at Activision, Michael Vance, was asked why it was their choice for the initiative, he said,

The Call of Duty Data Set featuring Caldera represents an extensive, in terms of world-size, scene-graph depth and geometric complexity, production-quality map, used for multiplayer games in Call of Duty: Warzone.

It’s understandable that Activision is inclined to better the developers of tomorrow, maybe they should’ve provided a data set featuring Verdansk. Developers would die for it.

Fans Still Believe That it is the Worst Call of Duty Map

Activision called the map a paradise for players, but they made it a hell for the company when they began throwing negative reviews. Users noticed the map was too empty in contrast to Verdansk.

Even to this date, they just want Activision to lock the map in the vault . for eternity.

Caldera is the worst map. Please lock it up in the vault forever

— Shawn Mosby (@MosbyGaming) July 30, 2024

Maybe the developers will do something that will bring some glory to the map. But then again, what good will that do to them? Maybe allowing them to monetize the work will prove to be a more fruitful move.

Sure, the initiative will help new developers learn new things, but if they are to contribute to the gaming community as a whole, they sure deserve more than just learning.

How do you think Activision’s initiative for the gaming industry will help developers? We would like to know your thoughts in the comments section below.