Verdansk is back in Modern Warfare III which originally brought up the question about the nuke that hit Verdansk back in 2021. MW3 gameplay has yet to further discuss this event, but it’s possible the Verdansk nuke is still canon during Modern Warfare 3’s events. Ready to see the return of Verdansk in MWIII? Here’s what you need to know:
GHOST KNOWS ABOUT REQUIEM
Back during the original Warzone map, when Cold War was being teased, there’s an intel file you could find that mentioned the Zombies group Requiem is listed on. Of course, this group was keep super-classified by the Director (Eddie). So, when Ghost discovers this document, he writes “What the hell was ‘Office of Requiem’?” on the file. Most likely, he showed this to his higher-ups, possibly Captain Price, which means 141 knows something related to Zombies even if the nuke isn’t in question. Does this mean they looked deeper in case it dealt with Zakhaev or Makarov and found Eddie instead? That’s yet to be seen, but MW3 Zombies could touch on it.
It’s also good to note Roze’s bio in MW2: “Unseen Forces had different plans for Verdansk…”
MW3 ZOMBIES STORYLINE
Speaking of MW3 Zombies; the story we will follow is vague. We know it’s set in Treyarch’s Dark Aether storyline, which is the sequel to the original Aether storyline after the events of Black Ops 4 Zombies, of which combined the multiverse into one singular universe. It’s also set in the new Warzone map which is rumored to be Urzikstan, not Las Almas which was rumored for the longest time, but it’s layout is said to be similar to Las Almas.
In case you didn’t know, Urzikstan is neighbored to Verdansk, and since MW3 Zombies is set between MW2019 and MW2; this could explain where the Zombies went after the nuke. Perhaps to avoid clean-up crews, or sheer following of exfil choppers, they could’ve all migrated to Urzikstan and taken over the city.
HOW BIG WAS THE NUKE?
This is a great question to ask; not the biggest bomb in the arsenal. Margwabot over on X/Twitter has made some calculations to how much area was affected by the Verdansk nuke judging from Prison, Dam, and Stadium being in-tact. Contrary to popular belief, one nuke does not equal total destruction; it can, in theory, destroy a city, but that depends on the bomb that’s used.
The nuke detonated in Downtown Verdansk, meaning downtown was most definitely destroyed, but due to a few points that need to be taken into account, that might be all, if not most, of the damage.
Considering smoke patterns, if it’s already starting to slow down before reaching the dam, then that means the explosions fire had started to simmer before that point, lowering any destructive force. Verdansk is confirmed to be 9km^2 which translates to 3.5 square miles for the American readers. The Enola Gay, which was the name of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, was 11km^2 which is 4.2 square miles. This means the bomb in Verdansk is smaller than the one from Hiroshima, making this bomb a tactical nuke variant, which is meant to be a smaller nuclear force meant to be used tactically and not to fully destroy an area.
WHAT ABOUT RADIATION?
Hiroshima’s radiation levels were decreased by 1/1,000,000th what it was originally after just one week. Radiation itself is an important issue, but with the case of a tactical nuke and modern technology is a much easier problem to work-around.
WHAT ABOUT VERDANSK BEING REBUILT IN 2 YEARS?
This is also extremely possible; in 1947, Hiroshima was pretty much rebuilt with the help of the United States. In nearly 80 years worth of technological advancements, Verdansk could’ve easily been rebuilt in half that time or less. Considering how many countries were involved during the armistice (Warzone), each could’ve made an effort to bring it back to it’s feet, or at least those responsible for launching the nuke in the first place.
WHAT ABOUT BUILDING 21?
Originally, it was believed Building 21 was built in a crater of Verdansk’s nuke, but as of Season 5 Reloaded of MW2, that’s confirmed to be false. DRC – Zone 1 is a multiplayer map set in the complex that surrounds Building 21. In this map, you can visibly view Building 21 from both in-map and spectator mode!
It’s good to mention that there’s more to Building 21 surrounding Verdansk though; the Bunker 11 Keycard which is an item exclusive to Building 21. Back during the original Warzone, there was an Easter Egg Quest for an MP7 Blueprint on the original Verdansk map. This Easter Quest allowed you access to Bunker 11, the only bunker on the map that can’t be opened with a regular bunker keycard. In this bunker was a nuclear warhead that was being built, foreshadowing the eventual nuclear strike on Verdansk.
If Building 21 isn’t in Verdansk, then why is the Bunker 11 keycard there? Perhaps some parts of Verdansk made their way to that area, or maybe when Velikan or Konni took it over, they brought their research with them. Either way, there’s more to Building 21 and Verdansk’s connection that we have yet to discover…
REMEMBER THE VODIANOY SHIP?
Some of you may remember this mysterious ship that washed up on the shore of Verdansk during Cold War’s beginning. If you remember it, you also remember the fact it had Zombies in it, starting the source of the Outbreak of Verdansk. Now, the ship itself actually disappeared in 1984, the date Cold War has a whole takes place. There’s been tons of fan speculation that Outbreak Easter Egg Quest 1, which dealt with the Legion Boss at the end, caused the disappearance of the Vodianoy ship. There were missiles charged with Dark Aether that were sent into the Pacific Ocean during that quest, and that matches up with the disappearance of the Vodianoy, of which was sailing in the Pacific Ocean. The current theory is that the missiles energy not only awoke the Zombies on-board, but also sent the ship through time to 2021 where it washed up on the shore of Verdansk.
Time travel isn’t far-fetched in the Zombies storyline; during the Aether story, Richtofen time traveled regularly and always has since Black Ops 1, so it’s not too bad to assume the Vodianoy ship experienced a shift in time.
THE END
What do you think? Was the nuke ret-conned, or will it be explored in MW3? Remember, that they haven’t shown us a Verdansk skyline yet in ANY of the gameplay of MW3. Maybe they want it to be a surprise. If you want to see how it’s possible the nuke was ret-conned, you can read our article about it here! Below is a video that goes in-depth about Verdansk and it’s current status!
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