letters on the wall. Call of Duty is about to change, and this time it might really stick.
Each year’s Call of Duty release gives us a rough picture of the evolution of first-person shooters over the last 15 years. There was a time when everyone was obsessed with modern military shooters, and in the years that followed, our boots lifted off the ground and started wall-his running or jet-his packing. When the hero he shooter hit big, Treyarch responded with his Black Ops 3 unique character and ultimate. It was fun for a little while, but then the clock reset and Activision thought. It wasn’t.
This brings us to the present day. (opens in new tab): Battle Royale. Activision tackled battle royale early on, garnering large audiences with its standalone free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone. The most popular way to play his CoD in 2022 is in a lobby with 149 people. This he could not have imagined in 2007. I also have Infinity Ward is looking to bring battle royale back to life in Warzone 2.0, but at the same time it’s making big strides in its next bet: AI and PvPvE.
In case you haven’t noticed, AI combatants are everywhere in Modern Warfare 2. In fact, literally every major mode in Modern Warfare 2 implements AI in some way.
- Multiplayer: AI roars join the battle in 20v20 ground combat mode
- Warzone 2.0: AI Is Scattered In New Al Mazra Fortresses Protecting Rare Loot
- Spec Ops: 2 player co-op missions against AI
- Raids: Destiny-style co-op missions with complex AI encounters and combat puzzles
- DMZ: Warzone’s Mysterious New PvPvE Extraction Mode Launches Alongside Battle Royale
We’re getting our first taste of CoD’s AI push with this weekend’s Modern Warfare 2 beta (opens in new tab)Taking Titanfall’s Attrition mode as its new mode, Invasion sees Nameless Grunts take part in massive 20v20 team deathmatches, where AI kills are worth fewer points than players. I wasn’t expecting much from Invasion, but it’s actually my favorite mode of the beta so far. Sometimes it’s still TDM, but the extra bodies running around saturate the map, giving the illusion of an epic, almost Battlefield-scale conflict in a much smaller space. Ruining the whole thing is also satisfying.
I’m very curious to see how Modern Warfare 2 will fare against raids. Infinity Ward deliberately draws comparisons to Destiny 2 when describing raids as “cooperative engagements that require teamwork and strategic, puzzle-solving thinking in between intense combat.” Destiny’s raids are almost universally considered the best part of these games, but because of the level requirements, only a small percentage of people can see them playing them. Infinity Ward seems to facilitate that process by simply creating raid missions that anyone can play.
Beyond Warzone
However, I think the true test of Call of Duty’s AI experiments will have to wait until Warzone 2.0. I’m skeptical that the nameless grunts that roam the map in Battle Royale add much more than shooting practice. Defend your territory like you do,” but the growling content streamers we encountered during the live Warzone 2.0 reveal were pushovers. I have yet to see an AI that truly threatens the player.
If AI is just a distraction in Battle Royale, hopefully it will be the star of the DMZ. My newfound love for extraction shooters may have colored this one a bit, but I feel DMZ is a big deal for Infinity Ward. is growing in interest. A number of extraction shooters have popped up recently that feature roaming around maps, fighting players, completing objectives, and leaving whenever you want.The burgeoning genre is dominated by the stealth cowboy shooter Hunt: Showdown (opens in new tab) and milsim Escape From Tarkov, but new challengers include the diesel-punk shooter Marauders (opens in new tab) and The Cycle: Frontier (opens in new tab)Battlefield 2042 gave the Extraction format a spin on Hazard Zone last year (opens in new tab)although it did not catch up there.
Warzone 2.0’s announcement blog post describes DMZ as a “passion project” and contributing studio within Infinity Ward, not used by Modern Warfare 2’s 200 other modes. It’s also the only mode with its own logo, completely separate from Warzone’s branding.
To set DMZ apart from Warzone, Infinity Ward should consider getting creative with AI. Think bigger than grunts: One of Hunt’s greatest strengths is that his monster’s unique behavior forces him to change his strategy (a Human that explodes when its skin is pierced with a sharp object). Imulators like Torch, etc.). There must be something to do other than hazard the environment and run around and shoot other players. If you think it’s too small for an extraction shooter, you end up in Battlefield 2042’s ill-fated hazard zone.
If Infinity Ward can perform against extraction shooters the same way it did in Battle Royale, it could be something really special (even beating out Fortnite this time). This proves to be a fitting kickoff for the PvPvE trend where every battle royale game is slowly approaching Escape From Tarkov or Hunt. I definitely ended up shrinking the circle, so I hope it pays off.
