Hajin our bets that it'll be good.



Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 studio Infinity Ward is betting big on DMZ - the game's extraction shooter mode - becoming another major pillar of the series. In a wide-ranging blog post and developer diary, we learn more about the studio's goals, and how the upcoming DMZ builds on 2022's Modern Warfare 2 DMZ beta.

Infinity Ward hopes the new DMZ mode will be an important addition to the genre, referring to the mode several times as the "action extraction shooter", emphasising the mode's focus on combat and engagement over menu navigation and looting - two things synonymous with other extraction shooters. Those elements do exist in DMZ, but from what the developer showed of it, the UI is designed to allow for speedy navigation with clear icons and a smooth flow.

DMZ has its own separate progression from the rest of the game, featuring 70 levels you can only climb through by playing it. It also, unsurprisingly, has its own separate economy of cash and crafting materials that persist between rounds, essentially making it a game within a game. That said, certain elements - such as weapon progression, are shared with Modern Warfare 4's multiplayer modes and battle royale mode Warzone.

The DMZ map, Haijin, has the largest population of enemy AI that Infinity Ward said it's ever built. Like the 2022 beta, you're encouraged to pick missions and side operations to gain XP, explore the map and take on various enemies, including other players. New in Modern Warfare 4 is the deployment screen, which lets you select from a number of mission types before loading into a match, saving you a bit of time. You can still start a run with no objective if you want to find missions organically as you go.

The developer has also ramped up the intensity of AI enemies and widened the number of difficulty tiers to make for a more dynamic enemy distribution across the map. Enemies now exist in four tiers of aggression and power, with the most challenging - Commanders - roaming the map protected by a posse of tough enemies that you'll have to get through first before facing the Commander.

Meta progression is another element that's been expanded upon greatly compared to the 2022 DMZ beta. All players have a home base called the Forward Operating Base (FOB), which you can walk around and explore, including alongside other players in your party. The space is similar to the Hideout in Escape from Tarkov and other extraction shooters, in that it also houses several important interactive stations you'll be using after each run.



At the FOB, you can manage active operators - the characters you can play as - look through your stash, create a loadout, customise your weapons, test them at the firing range, accept missions called Orders and open loot packs. The FOB also has a 3D printer, which uses ingredients gathered from the field to craft useful items.

The FOB also has a vendor that sells weapons and other items for in-game cash, as well as a case to display your collected dog tags, a bounty leaderboard that tracks the top PvP players, and a boss board that provides intel on powerful AI enemies roaming around.

There's quite a bit more in the official DMZ blog post, so give it a read if you're curious about specifics. More blog posts and reveals are expected throughout the week.

DMZ is available at Modern Warfare 4's launch on 23rd October for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2. Infinity Ward recently announced two major changes coming to Modern Warfare 4 and Warzone that have players excited: a silly skin off toggle for Warzone, and a tweak to double XP tokens so they count down in match and not real-time.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (2026)

Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)



Mac, PC, PS3, Xbox 360Read more: Full article on www.eurogamer.net

What do you think about this?