MWIII — Intel Drop: Modernizing Multiplayer Maps

13.09.2023 - 17:47 / news.blizzard.com

What’s your favorite Call of Duty Multiplayer map?

As Call of Duty nears its 20th anniversary, veteran fans could have over 100 potential answers to that question, and that’s not including the 16 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer maps that debuted in 2009 — one of the greatest Day One Multiplayer offerings of all time.

Afghan. Derail. Estate. Favela. Karachi. Highrise. Invasion. Quarry. Rundown. Rust. Scrapyard. Skidrow. Sub Base. Terminal. Underpass. Wasteland.

As previously revealed, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® III will launch with meticulously crafted, modernized versions of these 16 Core Modern Warfare 2 (2009) maps, constructed to maintain the authenticity and accuracy of the originals.

Sledgehammer Games’ Art Director Matt Abbott and Design Director Zach Hodson detail what that means in the latest Intel Drop:

As mentioned in the video above, Matt explains that the excitement at faithfully modernizing 16 seminal multiplayer maps was palpable, with the studio’s designers calling dibs on who brought each Modern Warfare 2 (2009) map back to life in Modern Warfare III. And his colleague Zach emphasized the importance of giving players a new way to experience these classic maps.

“We [asked], ‘What was good about the movement of older games? What was good about the gunplay of older games?’ And the same with the newer games,” Zach said. “So we tried to marry those things.”

Or, as Matt puts it simply, “How are we going to make the best versions of those maps that people have ever played? Because that’s what we want as fans.”

Multiplayer Maps: Then and Now

Fourteen years later, Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward have a wealth of game engine and design tech advancements at their disposal, such as variable-rate shading, and numerous runtime systems for better enemy visibility, to name a few.

These new, ever-advancing technological tools are vital in faithfully re-creating the Modern Warfare 2 (2009) classic maps just as fans remember them.

“There are places where the metrics of the level are adjusted to fit more modern gameplay,” Zach states, “but for the most part, it’s going to feel incredibly similar. The biggest changes are in a fidelity sense.”

In other words, those who played Favela, Terminal, or Scrapyard in 2009 may expect a wave of nostalgia as they encounter the visual updates, and more experienced veterans may appreciate the modernization updates for gameplay flow purposes.

One example is the vehicles lining the streets in various locations throughout the map pool; these are different models compared to the 2009 versions. As you explore these newly modernized maps, you’ll notice other areas have received touches that both improve gameplay and enhance scenic detail and visibility.

Buildings and