I'm really glad to see DMZ getting its flowers recently, especially with its revival in Modern Warfare 4. But it isn't just the latest Call of Duty offering a dose of extraction shooter action. CODM has been delivering its own iteration of DMZ for a little while now, and you might not even realize it. Speaking to the head of Call of Duty Mobile, Jeffrey Gullett, I asked him about the challenges of bringing it to the small screen.
You probably remember DMZ as the spin-off from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022). It sought to offer an alternative to genre staples like Escape from Tarkov, blending tense standoffs and looting with Call of Duty's singular blend of FPS game action. While it had plenty of good ideas, it didn't quite feel fully developed to last. To rectify that feeling, Call of Duty Mobile's version, DMZ: Recon, expands on its foundations.
Gullett tells me that "we knew from the beginning that DMZ: Recon had to feel right for Call of Duty: Mobile. You can't just take a console or PC experience and drop it onto mobile one-to-one. The sessions, pacing, and player expectations are different." DMZ: Recon launched in the free mobile game last December, adding the Serpent Island map and new specializations in the form of Talents. There's a suite of bosses, loot, and POIs to explore, but I personally dig how it offers more ways to extract.
Want to pay your way out to survive? DMZ: Recon lets you do that. It sounds like Modern Warfare 4 DMZ is taking a few notes in this regard, too. Gullett expresses that "our spin was making that loop quicker, more approachable, and more suited to mobile, while still giving players meaningful progression and high-stakes moments." It's already become a highlight for CODM, thanks to meaningful updates.
On that front, he adds that players can expect to see "more depth through things like new extraction mechanics, tougher areas, boss encounters, crafting, and additional rewards. It's still DMZ at its core, but built around how CODM players actually play."
However, I can't help but be intrigued by the space around DMZ: Recon. Newcomers like Embark Studios' ARC Raiders and Bungie's Marathon offer different versions of extraction thrills, catering to casual and hardcore players, respectively. In the wake of those games, there's a hungrier audience for extraction shooters. What lessons, if any, have the team learned from their popularity?
"We pay attention to what's happening across the shooter space. Competition is healthy, and when players get excited about a genre, it pushes everyone to keep improving. For extraction shooters specifically, I think the big lesson is that players really respond to tension and an appealing gameplay loop," Gullett says.
Although he doesn't acknowledge any specific competitors, he reiterates that "for CODM, the challenge is making that work on mobile. The experience still has to be quick, responsive, and easy to understand in the middle of a fight. We don't want to chase every trend just because it's popular."
At the core of it, Gullett's goal for the team is to "take the parts that make sense for our players and build them around the core Call of Duty feel: tight gunplay, clear objectives, and exciting match-to-match progression."
Are you enjoying what DMZ: Recon has to offer? Before you drop in again, grab the latest CODM codes, and tell us what you think over at the Pocket Tactics Discord server.