Modern Warfare 4’s DMZ mode is going full Arc Raiders

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (the 2022 sequel to the rebooted subseries, not the original 2009 release), the DMZ beta was the third mode tacked on. This mode brought some original ideas for the Call of Duty series, such as the extraction mechanic to secure your loot, but it was a little half-baked. After four years, DMZ is coming back in Modern Warfare 4, and this time, it sounds like it’s improved tenfold.

“We actually made a proper DMZ this time, we had a bit more time,” is how Geoffrey Smith, multiplayer creative director at Infinity Ward, introduced the mode during a virtual presentation attended by Polygon. From what we’ve seen, that certainly looks to be accurate: Modern Warfare 4’s DMZ mode feels like it’s a true game within a game, something that can compete with the titans of the genre, such as Arc Raiders.

DMZ is set in Hajin, an enormous map that is mostly a South Korean exclusion zone after a nuclear reactor meltdown, alongside smaller sections in both Russia and North Korea. That event happens shortly after the conclusion of the Modern Warfare 4 campaign, meaning DMZ is part of a cohesive Modern Warfare universe.

Infinity Ward wants to tell a story with this mode, though, which is why the team is focusing so heavily on discovery, exploration, and “telling stories through the environment,” Smith explained. “Players will unravel mysteries on their own, and it helps the map to become a character itself.”

Various extraction shooters such as Arc Raiders, Marathon, and Escape From Tarkov have implemented some form of mission-based storytelling, but it’s arguably the weakest part of the genre. Narrative and exposition often come solely from NPC traders in a hub between games, or through text/audio logs.

DMZ is taking this one step further with three ways of playing. First up are the story missions. Examples given by Joe Cecot, another multiplayer creative director at Infinity Ward, during the presentation included searching for key items inside a vault, abducting and exfiltrating an injured general from a hospital, and infiltrating an active military base — the highest-difficulty location in Hajin.

What makes these missions even more interesting and allows for tenser gameplay is that when you load into a DMZ match with the goal of completing one, you’ll mostly be matched with other players and squads tackling the same mission. This could lead to cooperation with other players, or it may result in only one squad emerging victorious.

Dynamic operations are another way of playing; these are also objective-focused, but they’re randomly selected from a pool. Again, the majority of players in the match will be tackling the same operation; examples include destroying a missile before it launches, downloading intel then blowing up a server room, or taking out a designated high-value target. Importantly, though, the steps that you take each time are also randomized, leading to more combinations and fresh experiences.

Finally, players can also enter DMZ in free roam mode. This means you can be matched with players either on a story mission or a dynamic operation, so you have different options. Do you hunt down the players focused on completing their objective, sabotaging their chances? Or do you gallivant off elsewhere and do your own thing, safe in the knowledge that most of the lobby will be preoccupied, and your main threat will be the various PvE foes, such as vehicle convoys (including air traffic), grunts, elite enemies, and more.

These non-player enemies come with an elevated risk, though, because the more you kill, the higher your Grand Theft Auto-inspired wanted level rises. As this increases, you’ll have more foes hunting you down, hot on your tail. However, if you take out enemies stealthily — new mechanics to permit this include being warned when an AI foe is about to spot you, so you can quickly get behind cover — your star level will not go up. To help every match to feel unique, there are all manner of weather effects, from light rain to torrential snow and everything in between. As the match progresses, weather effects will intensify, enhancing both the atmosphere and tension.

There are plenty more permanent progression mechanics when it comes to your character, too. You can choose from different operators, each of which has an individual “trait tree,” aka a skill tree. So you can have one operator who is geared towards PvP combat, another for stealthy PvE, and a third that is all about going in guns blazing. As is standard for an extraction game, dying in the field means you lose your kit, but there’s a new “MIA” mechanic that allows you to spend money on rescuing your fallen soldier to save trait points and experience earned.

Between matches, you’ll return to a forward operating base, which is DMZ’s version of those aforementioned hub environments. Ranking up will unlock more stations, such as a 3D printer, vendor, gunsmith, and more. The printer is the most exciting of these, because this is where you can use the materials you loot in-game to craft equipment of varying rarities.

Last, but by absolutely no means least, is an extremely innovative addition that has only been seen in other extraction games via third-party efforts: a PvP bounty and leaderboard system. The essence of it is simple: the more player kills you get, the more infamous your reputation becomes. Eventually, you’ll be granted a wanted status, which means other players can pay a fee to find out your location mid-match and hunt you down. Killing a wanted player drops a high-value dogtag, which can then be extracted for a reward. Weekly refreshing leaderboards will showcase the best bounty hunters and PvP players.

DMZ will be available when Modern Warfare 4 is released on Friday, Oct. 23, for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.