Extraction shooters arguably had their big break last year, with ARC Raiders finding its way into the zeitgeist. While the mode has slowed down a bit, even with Marathon making strides, people are still interested in them. DMZ found success back in 2022, but it was still a fledgling idea. Everything I’ve seen so far in Modern Warfare 4’s version makes me think that they’ve figured it out, but I took the time to talk with Studio Multiplayer Creative Director Joe Cecot on what the team has been focusing on to make this the definitive DMZ experience.
My first question was in line with this sentiment. DMZ seems so fleshed out compared to what we had back in 2022. Was this the version they imagined when they first began to make DMZ as a third mode? Do they see it as the culmination of DMZ 2022?
Joe responded both yes and no. They felt like they left a lot on the table with the original DMZ. They wanted to have more persistent inventory and deeper systems, but it was a lot of work to get that version out and the number of AI they had on the map (there were upwards of 2500 AI). Joe looks at it as laying the tracks in front of the train as it's driving; they went out the door with the beta and iterated as they went. Things like perk streaks for exfilling without dying, and active duty slots are good examples of how the game changed as they went – a layer of persistence underneath.
That said, they knew they weren’t hitting the nodes of player growth during the mode’s life cycle. Looting didn’t feel as purposeful or meaningful as they wanted, so it became a bigger focus in MW4 DMZ. As soon as they finished the live support for DMZ 2022, they leaned into the thought of what their foundation needed to be for this new version of the mode.
With the retrospectives from 2022, Infinity Ward was able to learn a lot. Players played the mode for longer, gravitated to their operators and the experience. It introduced casual players to the extraction shooter genre and pulled them in. Even so, a lot was left on the table in things they wanted to do. Now, with the new DMZ, and after having played more games in the genre and seeing what those teams are doing, they’ve had cool new opportunities to develop fresh ideas for this DMZ.
I personally loved DMZ 2022, but the story element to it was slim to none. The presentation didn’t fully explain it, so my question was this: Do the story missions feature actual narrative? Or are we just chasing “collect ten wires” before coming back to the hub?
Turns out, they recognized this aspect of DMZ already. The story missions in MW4 DMZ will be much more curated experiences. I referenced the casino mission in our preview, but this was brought up here as an example of how similar it will be every time you do it. You get into the casino, you go to the penthouse to unlock the vault gate, you head to the basement to turn the power back on, back to the penthouse to unlock the gate now that the power is on, put a drill on it, and defend the vault from waves of enemies as it opens. The point of doing this is more involved as well, as you’re trying to take the money plates from said vault that the North Koreans are using to print money.
While this can be played outside of the story mission structure, Joe maintained that the story mission variant will have more flavor. Unique dialogue will occur through a CIA handler, unique enemies will fight you during the events of the task, and more. Doing these story missions are where the theming of DMZ comes into play – you’re somewhat self-funded, so doing these quests give you the cash and materials to make your gear and buy your weapons.
PVP is a big facet for DMZ, but at the end of 2022’s cycle, griefing got incredibly bad. It was at the point where you’d spawn in and instantly get sniped due to those players knowing the exact spawn locations. I was curious; Has the team worked on a way to combat said griefing?
It’s something the team always has to work on, Joe responded. This map is bigger than Al Mazrah was, so hopefully they’ll be able to push players apart better to lessen your chances of instantly dying. The bounty system brought up in the preview is another possible deterrent. Even if you haven’t paid for the intel on the wanted player’s location, you’ll still get that splash banner that announces the bounty being nearby. It’ll help you to decide whether you want to take them on, or run away to save your kit. At any rate, they want to stay balanced, and this offers you the alternative to get away if someone dangerous is in your area.
From here, I wanted to look at the future. Call of Duty games have an annual cycle, so I couldn’t push too far out with my question. A year from launch, what does Infinity Ward hope players are saying about DMZ?
After a moment of pause, Joe felt like he wanted players to feel like they’ve mastered DMZ, and are enjoying the live service seasons. He always loves the stories about the creators in ARC Raiders who have their inventory full of ducks and other things, and with the individual active duty slots that have their own loadout and backpack in addition to the global stash, so he’s excited to see how players interact with those mechanics.
He wants to see what players gravitate towards printing, and the heat maps of where they are looting. Also, the discovery element, where players are pointing others. For example, like how a server room downtown might be a great place for electronics and electronics based ingredients. Or mil-base having great military gear, but being a dangerous place to go with the soldiers policing the grounds. Joe wonders how long it may take for them to figure out if they kill a certain commander, they will drop a special ingredient for printing a specific item as well.
These kinds of interactions, where players are documenting and mastering their systems, are what the team wants to see. Maps of the map, where you can find all the locked spaces and which ones have the best stuff. There are a lot of intentional spaces on the map where you’ll be able to find specific loot, like police stations having military gear, clinics having healing items, or fire stations having radiation gear. But finding the spot that has a special container or special item is where those “oh crap” moments will happen.
The dragging mechanic was mentioned as a new feature. Sure, dragging your own teammate to safety is great, but being able to grab an enemy to keep their team from saving them, all as they scream in proximity chat, will be a blast. You can also melee opponents to interrupt their tourniquet or self-revive, another bullet in your “taking out enemies” mag. The idea is building more social interactions, and Infinity Ward is thrilled to see how players evolve as DMZ does, along with finding their fun.
As with the last interview, I had to ask my usual final question. Tell me a fun story from the development time of DMZ!
Testing a mode like DMZ is interesting, and there is a lot going on when you’re in Hajin. You want consistent inventory and people caring about the stuff they’re getting, but there are dynamic elements that are going to occur. After all, the dynamic ops are in the game to mix up the monotony of contracts.
Speaking of dynamic ops, as the team was on a test run, they got intel on a high-value target to take out. The first objective had them finding a hidden cache where an important phone would be for your use. They went and got it, but when they went to their vehicle to leave, a roaming commander came around a corner, and he was in a BIG tank. After an expletive or two, with tank rounds whizzing by, they are flying down the road to their next destination, knowing if one shot connects, it will kill them all.
They finally managed to shake the tank, but as they got to the new location, a juggernaut appeared. Their juggernauts have a cool feature of metal music coming from his headphones, which he turns up before he starts unloading with the minigun. One of the IW team went down, and they dragged him to cover to get him back up, but they just didn’t have the firepower to take the juggernaut on. Ignoring him, they finished the op and hit the road again to get to exfil.
Here is where everything hit the fan. As they’ve been doing all of this, their star level has been rising. Little bird choppers were now on their tail, equipped with enemies that had RPGs. The new exfil helicopter is a massive, twin-rotor machine, but it has several entry points. As they jumped in, they saw one of these little bird choppers coming their way. One of the squad looks out the window, and calls out an RPG shot, only to get hit by it as it rockets in.
A new mechanic has you getting knocked back or down by an explosive instead of taking as much damage, but here, it was fatal. This rocket hit, and knocked their friend out of the exfil chopper as it flew off, and they had to watch as he plummeted to the ground. Since none of them had 3D-printed parachutes, they couldn’t jump out and get him, instead waving bye (Joe’s “Sorry Bud!” had me cackling) as they got away. DMZ’s dynamic moments, the cinematic moments, are what drive this mode, and of course, can result in funny moments as well.
Our thanks again to the amazing Studio Multiplayer Creative Director Joe Cecot from Infinity Ward for taking the time to chat with us. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 arrives on October 23rd, 2026. It’ll be available on Xbox Series consoles, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. Stay tuned for more Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and DMZ intel right here on GamingTrend.
