Warzone 2 developer Infinity Ward listens to community feedback and surprisingly nerfs the AI enemies in the DMZ.
Unexpected news reached the CoD community via Twitter on 1 March when the developers responsible announced an update. It implements a change that the Warzone 2 community has been calling for for a long time.
The unexpected often happens
In a surprising and almost submerged message on Twitter, developer Infinity Ward shared that a patch has been applied to Warzone 2 that has generated AI on both Ashika Island and Al Mazrah.
The update reduces the damage bots do to players and has long been requested by the community.
This week in MWII:
– Shoot the Ship returns 🫡
– Infected
– Gun Game
– Dome 24/7This week in Warzone2:
– Battle Royale (Quads, Trios, Duos, Solos)
– Mini Royale Trios
– Resurgence (Quads and Duos) 👀– Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) March 1, 2023
The integration of bots in Warzone 2 has been anything but smooth so far, and large parts of the community have been calling for a nerf of the AI opponents in Warzone 2 for weeks, which in their opinion cause too much damage and thus sometimes pose a greater danger than real players in the DMZ.
With the Event Data Heist and the new Contract Search & Seizure two new gameplay mechanics were introduced in Season 2, in which bots are also involved in the Battle Royale game.
While BR games like Fortnite have been using bots for years, the digital opponents in Warzone 2 are currently still being watched with suspicion by the gaming community.
Who actually wants them?
At the latest since the news about the integration of bots in Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 respectively made the rounds in the CoD community in late summer 2022, the topic has been controversially discussed.
ℹ️ Enemy A.I. Combatants only spawn during a Search & Seizure Contract and the upcoming Data Heist Public Event.
See patch notes here: https://t.co/1hruWolQzE
– Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) February 22, 2023
While some see the AI enemies as an added layer to the gameplay, for others they are just annoying and don”t belong in a Call of Duty game. Critics of the bots accuse the developers of not listening to feedback from the community and generally disconnecting from their players.
Despite all this criticism, work continues to establish AI opponents as a permanent feature of Call of Duty. CoD leaker TheGhostOfHope seems to have the answer as to why it seems to be falling on deaf ears, especially at Infinity Ward.
Not gonna name names but there”s a specific head dev at Infinity Ward who really keeps pushing for AI to be involved in this game outside of DMZ and I”m really tired of it. https://t.co/PIkHZPu8qU
– Hope (@TheGhostOfHope) February 22, 2023
According to him, it is the personal concern of one of the lead developers to integrate bots in the game even against community feedback. Hope is silent on who this person is and why he continues to pursue this agenda so unwaveringly despite massive criticism.
It remains to be seen whether, as with so many changes in Warzone 2, the developers will eventually buckle and retract them, or this time stay the course despite the headwinds.