Since the days ofWorld at War,Call of Dutyhas always had some kind of third game mode. In Treyarch’s games, this third mode tends to be the beloved Zombies mode, and in Infinity Ward’s lineup, this mode is often a variation on the Spec Ops challenges that were introduced withCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Even the more disappointingCall of Dutyentries have had an additional game mode, likeGhosts' Extinction mode, andAdvanced Warfare’s Exo Survival mode.
The newCall of Dutygame, allegedly releasing towards the end of the year, will follow the same trend, apparently including a cooperative game mode that pits a team of human players against a swarm of AI enemies in an attempt to reach a specific objective. It’s been heavily rumored for a long time now that this year’sCall of Dutyis going to bea sequel to 2019’sModern Warfare, and with the addition of a new mode, this could be aCall of Dutyto watch out for.
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What Is Call of Duty’s DMZ Mode?
According to reputable leaker Tom Henderson,Modern Warfare 2is going to feature a brand new modecalled “DMZ.” While the leaker is unsure whether or not this will be the final title of the mode, he did give some more information about the mode.
Apparently, this new DMZ mode will take heavy inspiration from theco-op survival gameEscape From Tarkov. For those unaware,Escape From Tarkovdrops a team of human players into a massive battle royale-sized map, and gives them an objective to reach across the other side of the map. On their way to the objective, players will come into contact with a vast number of AI foes, and will have to use their own tactics, and the equipment and weapons they’ve scavenged, to battle their way to the objective.
This type of game mode is perfectly suited toCall of Duty’s gameplay style, especially the more realistic and heavy-feelingModern Warfareseries. The foundations for this game mode are already there inWarzone, so making this mode feel like a fully fleshed-out experience should be fairly straightforward.
It’s also been leaked that this newDMZ mode has been in the works since 2018, and was originally intended to be included in the firstModern Warfare, alongside a Zombies mode that was scrapped very early on in development. With well over four years' worth of development, it would seem likely that this game mode has been polished to a high degree. Combining this with the fact thatModern Warfare 2has had a full three-year development cycle, extremely rare for theCall of Dutyfranchise, and players just might find their new favorite third mode.
This does mean, however, thatModern Warfare’s Spec Ops mode will likely not be returning for the sequel. To be fair though,Call of Duty:Modern Warfare’s Spec Ops mode wasn’t all that great, and its exclusivity to PlayStation at launch only meant that it faded into obscurity all the more quickly.
It’s currently unknown whether the new DMZ mode will be exclusive at all at launch.Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warfeatured a plethora ofPlayStation-exclusive content, including a whole Zombies Onslaught game mode, along with some other exclusive cosmetics.
But on the other hand, the series' most recent release,Call of Duty: Vanguard, didn’t have any exclusive modes for PlayStation users, only offering some early access to content, and some XP boosts. With themixed reception of the last twoCall of Dutyentries, it seems likely that Infinity Ward will want to keep its new game as accessible as possible, meaning that this rumored DMZ mode could be included in all versions at launch.
Call of Duty2022 is in development.
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