Call of Duty: Warzone players have an interesting theory to explain why everyone's on Verdansk in 1984 Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Call of Duty: Warzone players have an interesting theory to explain why everyone's on Verdansk in 1984 The Red Door. News by Wesley Yin-Poole Deputy Editorial Director Updated on 30 Apr 2021 2 comments After Call of Duty: Warzone's nuke event blew up current-day Verdansk, players were transported back in time to 1984. This time travel has so far gone unexplained. Why are we all of a sudden fighting on the map circa 1984? Well, players reckon they've worked it out. Watch on YouTube Eurogamer news cast: are 'metaverse economies' the future of video games? During the deployment cutscene that plays at the start of a game of Warzone, you see the word "Flashback" on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. This, coupled with the emergence of a Warzone survey that reportedly mentions a new fast-travel system via "red doors", has led to a theory for what's happening. The Red Door was the name of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's leaked internal alpha, which emerged in July. We didn't know it at the time, but red doors would go on to play a key role in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War campaign. THERE MAY BE SPOILERS AHEAD. In that campaign, red doors appeared in the trippy mission Break on Through. Here, you experience a flashback to Vietnam 1968 and, under the influence of CIA operative Adler, try to reach a bunker via a red door. There's even an achievement tied to the red door and what you do with it. The theory, then, is Verdansk '84 puts players in the same situation as the player character who, in Black Ops Cold War, relives their Vietnam mission. If this is true, it's not time travel that's happening in Warzone. It's a good old-fashioned flashback mission. This makes sense in the context of the ongoing Black Ops Cold War story, which revolves around the hunt for Adler in Verdansk. Villain Stitch kidnapped Adler and has him holed up somewhere. Perhaps we're playing a flashback of this rescue mission, in the same way we played a flashback of the Vietnam mission in Black Ops Cold War. Back to the red doors. You might have noticed a red door appear at the end of the cutscene that played for those who took part in Warzone's The Destruction of Verdansk Part 2 limited-time event (the video is below). As the door opens and the camera flies through, we see numbers emerge from the light, and hear Stitch say: "You have no idea what's coming." Watch on YouTube Whatever the case, Warzone developer Raven has confirmed current-day Verdansk is not coming back. When this flashback is over, where will Warzone head next? Hopefully a brand new map. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store