DMZ is The Biggest Loser Coming Out of Call of Duty Next

Summary

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's upcoming release will include updates and new content for its single-player, multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone modes.
However, the popular DMZ mode, which aimed to provide a unique and customizable experience, seems to have been abandoned with no plans for updates or changes in the future.
It appears that DMZ's gameplay elements have been incorporated into the Zombies mode of Modern Warfare 3, leaving DMZ fans disappointed and uncertain about its future.

The upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is tasked with carrying over the large-scale content of its predecessor, as well as everything involved with the popular Warzone franchise. Fans were recently given tons of information surrounding the release thanks to the Call of Duty Next presentation, which outlined its single-player, multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone plans in great detail.

With this news creating a range of talking points around Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it may be easy to forget about certain multiplayer experiences that have seemingly escaped Activision's plans for the future. DMZ in particular is a mode that once showed a lot of ambition and potential longevity, but Call of Duty Next may have served as a silent announcement that the mode is dead in the water.

Call of Duty Next: A Lack of Updates For Modern Warfare 3's DMZ

DMZ was introduced as a brand-new experience alongside the release of Warzone 2 in 2022, aiming to provide a twist to the large-scale gameplay of the battle royale title. Inspired by the growing popularity of extraction shooters like Escape From Tarkov, DMZ allows players to dictate their own playstyle and objectives across a variety of Warzone maps. By completing objectives and extracting from a map with certain loot, players can then purchase things like upgrades, making for an addictive and replayable experience.

With that being said, the recent plans for Modern Warfare 3 that were outlined at the Call of Duty Next presentation do not bode well for the future of DMZ. During CoD Next, the core multiplayer of MW3 and its Zombies mode were the center of attention, as well as changes that will be coming to the main Warzone experience like a brand-new map. Worryingly for fans of DMZ, the presentation confirmed that no changes or updates are planned for it, with the game mode being firmly chained to Modern Warfare 2 going forward.

This is even more concerning when considering how Modern Warfare 3 is being billed as a direct continuation of MW2, with the upcoming game carrying forward a lot of the progression of its predecessor. With DMZ not being brought up to speed with MW3, it is hard to see the mode receiving any solid support as all eyes inevitably turn to the franchise's next title in November.

Interestingly, it seems that the bold Zombies mode of Modern Warfare 3 will be taking the mantle for DMZ's extraction gameplay. With MW3's Zombies being its own open-world experience, it was confirmed that players can choose to extract from the map with any perks and weapons they have, being able to save them for later use. As this is essentially the core appeal of DMZ, it seems that the mode is firmly out of Activision's frame of attention going forward.

All signs currently indicate that DMZ will not be getting an update for Warzone's upcoming Urzikstan map, and the mode will likely fade into obscurity over the coming months as a result. While this is of course frustrating for dedicated fans of the mode, this may be a natural result of Call of Duty's annual content being stretched too thin across its growing number of game modes. With DMZ not being carried forward into Warzone's new experiences, and with Zombies adopting its core game mechanic, the mode faced a silent but serious blow during Call of Duty Next.