Activision revive Warzone's Caldera map as open source (yay!) but say it's to help train AI (booo)

Hardened battle royalists will remember Caldera, the sandy island map of bunkers and palm trees in Call Of Duty: Warzone. It got shut down last year as Activision focused their efforts elsewhere, making the map unplayable. But you can now revisit those bullet-strewn beaches. In theory, anyway. Activision have released it as a 4GB open-source project that can be explored in a 3D model-viewing tool. That's cool. But among their reasons for doing so, there lies a predictably grubby logic: they want people to use the data to train AI.

"Open-source assets like Caldera play a vital role in the advancement of artificial intelligence," says a post by Activision accompanying the map files. "By providing a rich, diverse environment, we facilitate the training of AI models, enhancing the industry’s understanding of complex geometries and interactions. This can lead to more intelligent systems, paving the way for the next generation of gaming and simulation technologies."

It is easy to read this and assume it is Activision's way of saying: hey, level designers, your job is also unsafe. The data they're releasing also includes records of the paths players took across the island. That information is often critical to designers of these sorts of huge landmasses.

Whatever the company's motivation, it is certain to elicit mixed emotions in game development circles. Releasing something as open source is often viewed as a virtuous act in software development, since it has benefits that stretch beyond profit margins. But suggesting that your open source offering be used to train machinery that replaces paid human craft and artistry somewhat poisons that virtue. Activision don't seem to be bothered though.

"In an era where AI training and the evolution of authoring tools are pivotal, the availability of production-proven maps is crucial," they say. "This is about collaborating with the gaming and research community to build a foundation for responsible innovation and learning across the industry."

Maybe I'm worrying too much. Yes, we can probably assume Activision would like to further automate processes that involve humans, but it's not certain the data will be as useful to AI researchers as they might hope. For example, their enthusiasm comes at a moment when investors are starting to realise that maybe all those billions of dollars pumped into artificial intelligence won't see any profitable result. "Despite its expensive price tag, the technology is nowhere near where it needs to be in order to be useful," said one Goldman Sach's analyst.

The map data for Caldera is available on Github, and is designed to be opened and viewed with a tool called USDView. Ignoring the AI-motivated stink, I do think it's cool for normal humans with some technical nouse to be able to fly around maps like this, drinking everything in with nostalgia. I've done the same thing to old Halo 2 maps and get a buzz from peeking around on browser-based toys like noclip.website, which let you explore maps from Dark Souls, Banjo-Kazooie, and Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Shooty sequel Warzone 2 is one of our best battle royale games, so it's likely someone out there will get the same curious joy from flying around Caldera.