A rumored change coming to Call of Duty: Warzone’s new map, Urzikstan, was just confirmed by a popular content creator—and it’s not a good start for the battle royale’s new look.
Urzikstan will only support 100 players when the new map launches tomorrow for Modern Warfare 3’s season one, according to YouTuber JGOD. In a new video, JGOD explained he was recently flown out to play MW3 and Warzone and learned some new information about what’s to come, including the info about how many players will be dropping into the battle royale at once.
“One of the things was specific about Warzone, we asked what will the player count be, and they essentially said the same that we played at [CoD] NEXT,” JGOD said. “And what that was was trios and that was 99 players, so I’d imagine it’s gonna be 100 players for solos, duos, and quads, which I know is disappointing to a lot of people.”
The news will come as a big disappointment to many as CoD players have traditionally preferred Warzone at 150 players thanks to the sheer size of the game’s maps. At CoD NEXT in October, the content creators streaming and recording their gameplay tried out the new map but with 99 players, and gamers have been wondering ever since if that would be the case at full launch.
“I think we still gotta kind of figure out to see how it plays,” JGOD said, which is a good point. The panic button shouldn’t be hit just yet until the game is out in the masses and players get a feel for it. But the dangers of there being too few players means fewer engagements and, overall, a more boring experience.
Warzone will also be integrating MW3’s new faster, fluid movement system, which could make the bigger map feel a bit smaller than it is. It’s unclear for now how the 100 player count will feel, and it’s always possible for the count to be upped if feedback is presented to the developers. But the 100 player count was previously tested in Warzone and was met with a negative response.
Urzikstan and the new Warzone experience will launch on Wednesday, Dec. 6 alongside MW3’s season one.
Update on Dec. 4 at 2:20pm CT: Raven Software, the lead developer on Warzone, has put out a statement regarding the news of the game’s new player count.
“This morning we announced that the player count for Warzone Battle Royale is 100 players,” Raven said. “Our top priority is creating an optimal and fun experience for all of our players based on critical metrics. These metrics include time-to-action, the map size of Urzikstan, new circle timings and sizes, total match time (20 minutes), red dots, contracts, and various new & existing second chance mechanics. We believe we’ve found the right balance to offer multiple phases starting with fair infil & looting, followed by healthy mid-game engagements, and an end game climax where the best player(s) leave with the win. As always, we will continue to monitor community sentiment and internal data closely, making adjustments as needed over time. What really matters is that you drop in on Wednesday and experience it for yourself!”
