The Real Reason CouRage Is Leaving Warzone

On Dec. 14, 2021, CouRage announced on Twitter that he had officially uninstalled "Call of Duty: Warzone." He explained that this decision was largely influenced by the popular game's new Caldera map, a recent launch that brings together both "Warzone" and "Call of Duty: Vanguard" in a way the popular streamer ultimately found unplayable.

In an explanation video uploaded the next day, CouRage let fans know his departure from the game is solid "for the indefinite future." He had high hopes for the new Caldera map to "reignite [his] love for 'Warzone,'" and although his love for "COD" gunplay and getting together with his crew remains unchanged, it's no longer "enough to get [him] back into the game."

Jumping into the Caldera map, CouRage explained that he "faced a few cheaters" almost immediately, even after "Warzone" made a big deal out of the newest plans to fix the game's long-standing hacker problem. In addition, CouRage was bored and frustrated waiting nearly five minutes for the first loadout, which he felt "takes away from the speed and momentum of the game, which is one of the things [he] loved about 'Warzone.'"

His issues didn't stop there, and CouRage explained how the game has changed many of his favorite things and has become less enjoyable. CouRage also used to love to fly in "Warzone," a function he now finds "wonky" in Caldera. He's into the removal of tall buildings, but the steep terrain makes navigation a challenge. On top of that, he took issue with the large amount of foliage and the overly-loud sound effects. All of these combined factors had quite the negative impact on CouRage.

Though CouRage acknowledged that he could wait for "Warzone" updates to smooth things out, it wouldn't be worth it for his mental health. In his words, "Personally, my mental state right now, with the way I approach the game, I'm not at the point where I wanna wait for those updates to come and just push myself through it." CouRage explained he could make better content for fans if he was actually enjoying himself. 

Summing up his reasons for leaving "Warzone," CouRage said, "for right now, I'm just done centering my content around 'Warzone.' I've more than come to terms with that meaning that I'm probably gonna make less money or potentially lose a sponsor or two, but I can't do it for my mental health." Instead of playing the game that's making him miserable, CouRage has decided that "unless there are some major, drastic changes, I think I'm out." However, he mentioned that he's definitely not done forever. After all, he took a similar break from "Fortnite" in the past only to return and love it in its current state more than ever before.

As for what he'll be doing next, CouRage looks forward to making IRL, food, and reaction videos, plus gaming videos focused on games he actually wants to play, like "Valorant" and "Apex Legends."