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Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, one of the most anticipated battle royales, has just been released globally on Android and iOS devices.
As the name implies, this is the mobile version of Call of Duty: Warzone, retaining all its gameplay features with shared progression, while being available on phones and other portable devices.
In anticipation of the launch, we had an opportunity to catch up with Tom Hess, Executive Producer at Activision.
Bringing Warzone to Mobile
Call of Duty: Warzone is without a doubt one of the highest-budget battle royales on the market with highly polished AAA graphical visuals. Considering this, we wondered what were the most challenging aspects of bringing a AAA gaming experience to the mobile platform.
Hess replied, “Well, it’s been an amazing journey to watch the game come to life on mobile. Even in the early days of development, we kept seeing encouraging signs that this was going to work. For us, the most challenging aspect was getting the controls right for mobile players. We knew that the game was fun. Getting it right on an input is new to the shared call of duty tech. It’s important to us. We had to get the fast-paced, fluid feel that players on PC and console loved.”
“We approach this from the angle that every player’s control setup is as unique as their weapon level. And just as important for success. We’ve given the players a ton of options to customize and change their controls. We now have what we feel is the smoothest, best-on-class experience in the market.”
Key Pillars
When developing a console and PC title for mobile devices, there are no doubt aspects that developers would focus on the most to retain its intended experience. When asked about what are the key pillars of the original game the development team needs to bring over to Warzone Mobile at all costs, Hess said “Relentlessly Warzone is the top pillar to use since day one to develop a skin.”
“What Relentlessly Warzone means to us is that the game needs to feel and play like Warzone. We need to have Warzone maps, vehicles, contracts, and gameplay. The weapons need to feel different and allow players to experiment with weapon loadouts in the gun zone. If you are familiar with Warzone, you could just pick up a phone and start playing.”
“If you’re new to Warzone, you get to experience the same high quality, action-packed experience that console and PC players have been enjoying for the past four years.”
This also extends to the graphical and performance demands of Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, where Hess described how they approach developing the game for mobile devices.
“The key goal from the beginning of Warzone Mobile development has been to ensure it looks, plays, and is amazing on a wide variety of mobile devices. One of the key benefits of sharing tech with Call of Duty on PC and console is that we can scale high-fidelity content and bring it to mobile at various levels to fit the variety of devices each player is gaming. On top of that, in addition to fully customizable controls we’ve gained.”
“Players on every device have the option to pick what they prioritize visually or functionally for their gameplay experience. Whether that be graphic quality, frame rate, shader preloading, variable rate sharing, or any combination of them.”
Cross-Platform Progression
Cross-platform progression is arguably one of the highlights of Warzone Mobile, allowing players to keep their progression across multiple modern Call of Duty titles they owned, including the PC and console versions of Warzone.
To this, Hess expressed that it was the best decision the team had made. “Leveraging the shared Call of Duty tech, it gave us access to all this amazing content that existed in the PC and console game, while allowing us to tune the gameplay to match the mobile player’s styles and touch screen,” said Hess. “It’s the best of both worlds. You can now access Call of Duty Warzone from anywhere, and when you play on any platform, your time is rewarded.”
Future Plans
The original Warzone was released in 2020, 4 years ago, and has received many updates throughout its life, including maps such as Al Mazrah and Caldera. Mentioning these maps, Hess noted the beauty of the cross-platform progression.
“One of the benefits of being on the shared quality technology is the access to content pipelines and gameplay systems across the franchise. This makes it possible to evolve the game, different maps and allows us to share other content innovations in the future. You’re just going to have to jump into the warzone to see all the new maps and modes we have in store for players.”
Added in the 2.0 version of Warzone is the Plunder mode, a unique game mode where squads race to collect cash as fast as possible. When talking about the potential return of this popular game mode, Hess mentioned that the launch of Warzone Mobile is just the beginning, and a roadmap is already planned for the game.
“Every week, we’ll have new gameplay, events, and content players dig deep. Not only will mobile players have access to all the shared content, but they will be getting Warzone Mobile original content as well. I’m truly excited for players to experience the game’s growth and evolution over time.”
“It’s gonna be a fun and wild ride, so jump in. Oh, Plunder? That sounds like a good idea.”
Existing Call of Duty Experience
Warzone Mobile is now launched and co-existing with other Call of Duty titles, which raises concern for existing players in regards to their progression being altered to match the mobile version. When asked about whether users would progress at the same pace if they played either Modern Warfare 3, Warzone, or Warzone Mobile.
Hess said, “Mobile players are now part of the global Call of Duty experience. So it’s very important to us that mobile game is a way for anyone to play, anytime, anywhere. That means that progress needs to be consistent across all platforms. But we need to make sure that mobile players have all the same avenues to progress as well.”
“That is why we’re offering players many ways to play, such as traditional Battle Royale, Resurgence, Mobile Royale, a shorter, fast-paced mode made specifically for mobile players, and multiplayer with four game modes at launch. Warzone Mobile is now truly part of the Call of Duty experience.”
Now with different Call of Duty experiences available, players must be wondering how content will be supported for each game, and for that, Hess said, “Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile includes shared progression across Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as one of its key features. We intend to make all operators, weapons, blueprints, and cosmetic equipment accessible, as well as integrate player-level, battle pass access, and weapon progression among these games.”
“We do this partially through an in-game feature we call the Arsenal Store, which allows players to purchase items, weapons, and equipment from Modern Warfare 2 or Modern Warfare 3 that they wouldn’t normally be able to earn due to how it’s unlocked through new features or events. Players can unlock Arsenal Points to use in the Arsenal Store, regularly playing the game in any public mode or playlists.”
Feedback and Improvements
Before the global launch, Warzone Mobile had limited testing throughout different regions including one held in Malaysia. Throughout this period, there are bound to be many feedback and suggestions.
For that, Hess responded by saying “Feedback from players in the limited release has been all over the map, but have ultimately made all elements of the game better, from refinements to everything from performance and polish to gameplay, touch controls, menus and more.”
“From rendering at a significantly higher fidelity to reducing the install footprint to refining the customization options. The integration of an authentic multiplayer experience featuring maps like Shipment and Shoot House to complement Battle Royale. Not to mention the thousands of bugs we fixed. Feedback from players has been invaluable.”
Why Warzone Mobile?
Before Warzone Mobile, Activision had already released Call of Duty: Mobile in 2019 with TiMi Studio Group as the developers. Curious about why Activision chose to have a standalone Warzone Mobile instead of merging it to be part of Call of Duty: Mobile, we asked Hess about it.
“The goal is to connect players across the Call of Duty franchise in new ways, such as share progression and social features, both only possible by leveraging shared technology across the franchise. Additionally, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is focused primarily on Battle Royale. It features higher player counts and Warzone’s unique rulesets and mechanics, including the contracts, the economy, killstreaks, and the gulag. And of course, it features both Verdansk and Rebirth Island, two of the most battle-hardened, beloved maps in the battle royale.”
User Interface and Anti-Cheat
Considering mobile phones tend to have very little space for various user interfaces, there must be a lot of thought in designing the HUD to not feel clogged up, especially with the addition of mechanics such as slide canceling.
Hess noted that they want to give players the full quality experience. “Now mobile, you’re giving the players a ton of options and settings to customize their controls and the buttons that show up on the screen. Players can decide for themselves how they want to play, the size and location of any element on the screen.”
Of course, as a competitive multiplayer title, cheating is always the main concern, and Hess expressed that he has high hopes for the implemented anti-cheat. “We don’t want to speak for the Ricochet anti-cheat team on the specifics of their plans for Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile. However, we’re excited to have their expertise to help protect the game and maintain competitive integrity.”
Coolest Element of Warzone
As we were concluding the interview, we asked Hess which feature the development team feel is the coolest and wanted players to experience.
“There’s nothing like jumping into a battle royale game with 120 other real players,” said Hess. “You have to try it out. But we have so many other great features as well. Gunsmith is filled with different attachments to let you tune a weapon to your play style. Mobile Royale is a really fun addition, allowing for faster and more intense matches.”
“We also have a ton of new automation, such as auto fire, auto crouch, and even auto manel, that make the game more accessible. Of course, pulling off an execution in a game is always a highlight.”
We would like to thank Tom Hess for taking the time to answer all of the community questions of Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile.
As mentioned, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is now available worldwide on Android and iOS devices.
