Activision published a downloadable OpenUSD dataset derived from Call of Duty: Warzone’s Caldera map on July 30, 2024. It is a substantial environment scene for inspection, research, education, and non-commercial experimentation—not the complete Warzone game, the original production files, or a playable map. Activision calls it open source, but its custom license restricts use to non-commercial purposes unless the company grants separate commercial rights.
What Activision released
The public Activision/caldera repository contains a converted OpenUSD scene representing much of Caldera, the environment from Call of Duty: Warzone. Activision announced the release on July 30, 2024, describing it as a resource for academic and non-commercial use. The company says it is intended to broaden access to production-scale game data and support research into graphics, environmental geometry, AI and content generation, authoring tools, rendering systems, scene relationships, procedural editing, layout analysis, and player movement. Those are stated goals, not proof that a large body of subsequent research or commercial products has resulted.
The files provide an unusually large real-world scene for technical work with OpenUSD. They are not the complete production map: the repository describes them as a conversion of parts of production data, with important elements omitted. The distinction matters if you expect a finished game environment rather than a scene dataset.
What is in the dataset—and what is missing
Scene content
The repository includes renderable geometry, terrain and clutter represented through scene data and point instances, scene hierarchy and spatial relationships, cameras, level-of-detail variants, and alternative geometric representations used for tasks such as lighting or collision calculations. It also includes numerous USD files and smaller subsections, plus the example Python script caldera.py. The scene is organized for selective loading and inspection rather than as a single ready-to-render asset.
#1 Best Overall
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III - Cross-Gen Bundle
- Pre-Order and Receive Early access to the Open Beta - first on PlayStation*
- Some features may require an internet connection and an online subscription
Two types of player-position data are documented. The endpoint data at /players/endpoints/points_0 contains one million points representing where players ended matches; each point has position, a visualization color, and timing information. Breadcrumbs are time-varying samples of player positions, sampled approximately once every two seconds during matches according to the README. Attributes include position, opacity, color, and life, which represents progress from the start to the end of a match.
Activision describes the movement data as randomly selected and anonymized. That is not permission to infer player identities or profile individuals: the license expressly prohibits attempts to reidentify data in the Work.
Not included
The repository says textures, materials, many single-point entities such as spawn locations, and complicated script-based models are omitted. It does not provide the complete original production data, finished shaders, or the runtime systems that make Warzone playable. The download is not a game executable, mod, server, or restoration of the former game; it also does not include the game’s source code, matchmaking, weapons, characters, audio, missions, or online services. Without textures and materials, the geometry will not look like the shipped map without substantial additional work.
Rank #2
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Cross-Gen Bundle
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is the sequel to 2019’s blockbuster Modern Warfare.
- Featuring the return of the iconic, team leader Captain John Price, the fearless John "Soap" MacTavish, the seasoned Sergeant Kyle "Gaz” Garrick, and the lone wolf himself, fan favorite Simon “Ghost” Riley, players will witness what makes Task Force 141 the legendary squad it is today.
- Some features may require an internet connection and an online subscription
How large is the scene?
Activision’s launch post and the repository README report different counts. They may reflect different revisions or ways of counting meshes, primitives, points, and instances; those terms describe different kinds of scene elements and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Recommended Free Tools
| Source | Reported scale |
|---|---|
| Activision’s July 30, 2024 launch post | Approximately 4 GB of geometry, more than five million meshes, 28 million primitives, and more than one billion point instances. |
| Current repository README | A relevant scene portion approximately 2 by 2 miles, with roughly 17.5 million primitives and more than two billion points. |
The figures do not form one consistent specification, so treat them as source-specific descriptions rather than a single precise total. Either account describes a multi-gigabyte, multi-million-element scene, which can make detailed loading slow or memory-intensive.
How to open and inspect Caldera
The repository documents a USDView workflow. Install a compatible OpenUSD distribution that provides usdview, clone or extract the repository, then start with the lightweight scene:
Rank #3
- In the visceral and dramatic single-player story campaign, the stakes have never been higher as players take on the role of lethal tier one operators in a heart-racing saga that will affect the global balance of power.
- Experience the ultimate online playground with classic multiplayer.
- Squad-up and play cooperatively in a collection of elite operations accessible to all skill levels.
usdview caldera.usdaThe repository says this initially loads a lightweight representation. Scene settings use a Z-up axis and inches as the unit. For a closer look in USDView, follow the repository’s documented controls:
- Open
caldera.usda. - Hide the guide display purpose to remove gray scene-annotation boxes.
- Choose
map_capital_squarefrom the camera menu. - Select the relevant scene primitive and change the
district_lodvariant fromproxytofull. - Load the terrain branch and change its LOD to
full. - Enable the
renderpurpose if clutter such as grass and trees is not visible.
For more control over loading, the README also documents opening the island scene with payloads initially unloaded:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsusdview --unloaded map_source/mp_wz_island.usdThis can avoid immediately loading many payloads, but Activision warns that it may still take significantly longer than opening caldera.usda. The repository gives example scene paths such as /world/mp_wz_island/mp_wz_island_paths/mp_wz_island_geo/map_capital and /world/mp_wz_island/mp_wz_island_paths/mp_wz_island_geo/st_main/st_o. Example files include map_source/prefabs/br/wz_vg/mp_wz_island/commercial/hotel_01.usd, the terrain scene map_source/prefabs/br/wz_vg/mp_wz_island/superterrrain/st_main.usd, and the subsection map_source/prefabs/br/wz_vg/mp_wz_island/superterrrain/season_4/st_e.terrain.usd.
Rank #4
- INTRODUCING A NEW ERA OF BLACK OPS:Call of Duty is a dark, gritty future where a new breed of Black Ops soldier emerges and the lines are blurred between our own humanity and the cutting-edge military robotics that define the future of combat.
- A CALL OF DUTY CAMPAIGN UNLIKE ANYTHING BEFORE IT: Treyarch elevates the Call of Duty social gaming experience by delivering a campaign with the ability to play cooperatively with up to four players online, using the same battle-tested network
- PREPARE FOR A LEVELED-UP MULTIPLAYER With Black Ops III, Treyarch premieres a new momentum-based chained-movement system, allowing players to fluidly move through the environment with finesse, using controlled thrust jumps, slides, and mantlin
- FIGHT THE UNDEAD IN AN ALL-NEW HORROR STORY No Treyarch title would be complete without its signature Zombies offering - a full-game experience with its own distinct storyline right out of the box. Black Ops 3 Zombies is the most immersive and
The README points to OpenUSD Python bindings for programmatic inspection and includes caldera.py as an example. It says the workflow should translate to other tools, but import results depend on each application’s OpenUSD support, payload and instancing handling, materials, and capacity for a scene of this size. The repository does not establish reliable compatibility across specific versions of Blender, Unreal Engine, Unity, Maya, Houdini, or Omniverse.
What the non-commercial license allows
Activision describes the release as open source, and the files are publicly downloadable and modifiable. The operative terms, however, are a custom Activision Non-Commercial Use License Agreement, not an unrestricted commercial license or a stated MIT, BSD, Apache-2.0, or CC BY grant. In plain terms, it allows use, modification, derivative works, public display and performance, and distribution of the Work and derivatives on a non-commercial basis. The grant is described as perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, and royalty-free for those permitted non-commercial copyright uses.
The license identifies published papers, blog posts, presentations, benchmarking, similar non-commercial uses, and public release of applications using or based on the Work as permitted examples. That permission remains subject to its restrictions:
Best Value
- Officially licensed Call of Duty Ghost figure: Heavy-duty PVC construction with sturdy black base holds gaming controllers, mobile phones, remotes, and more without tipping over during intense gaming sessions
- Do not charge a fee or commercially profit from the Work or derivative works.
- If you distribute the files or derivatives, provide recipients with a copy of the license and the applicable
NOTICEfile. - Mark modified files with prominent notices explaining that they were changed, and retain relevant copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices.
- Do not attempt to reidentify data contained in the Work.
- Follow any applicable licenses for third-party or open-source components.
A commercial game, paid asset pack, subscription service, or other commercially distributed product or service incorporating the Work requires a separate commercial-use license from Activision. The repository does not provide a public price list or an automated licensing checkout. The license also does not grant broad rights to use Activision or Call of Duty trademarks; it permits reasonable description of the Work’s origin and reproduction of the required notice, not a general branding or endorsement claim.
Who is likely to find it useful?
Caldera is best suited to technical users who want a large, complex OpenUSD environment to study or use in non-commercial work. Potential applications include rendering and geometry benchmarks, procedural world-building, scene-graph and authoring-tool development, layout analysis, scene understanding, LOD and instancing experiments, and education. The player-position data may support research into movement and spatial behavior, within the license’s privacy restriction.
It is a poor fit if you want a playable Caldera remake, ready-to-render textured assets, or a commercially usable environment. It may also frustrate beginners or users with limited storage, memory, or GPU resources: start with the lightweight scene or an unloaded/subsection workflow before trying to load the full detail. Activision’s release makes a substantial slice of a production game environment accessible for non-commercial study, but it does not turn Caldera into a finished asset pack or Warzone build.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →
