Warzone 2’s DMZ was hyped up (both officially and unofficially) as the extraction mode that would bring the Escape From Tarkov experience to the masses. Well, we finally got our first look at DMZ gameplay at a recent content creator event, and it drew plenty of attention from those in the Tarkov community. So what’s the verdict?
Tarkov livestreamer Paul ‘Pestily’ Licari has already given his thoughts on DMZ after watching the action unfold. For him, DMZ sits in a good middle ground between the highly tactical EFT and the more accessible battle royale gameplay of Warzone 2.
“I actually think this will be a really fun game mode and I think this is a really good opportunity for someone like me who isn’t really super keen on doing a battle royale to come across from Tarkov,” Pestily says. He also adds that DMZ looks like “a more [fleshed] out and polished Hazard Zone”, referencing Battlefield 2042’s failed attempt at the extraction shooter genre.
For Ben ‘DrLupo’ Lupo – who was actually invited to play DMZ and also subsequently leaked an unannounced cosmetic feature in Warzone 2 – it was immediately clear that this was not as close to Tarkov as he expected. However, he does like how Infinity Ward has packed the Al Mazrah map with so many objectives, which helps keep things engaging for the entirety of a match.
“One of the things [battle royales] often suffer from is mid-game downtime… Fortnite suffered from that a lot,” DrLupo explains during the event. “This [DMZ] doesn’t suffer from that.”
‘NoiceGuyTarkov’ meanwhile addresses players that were worried DMZ would stomp Escape From Tarkov and poach a lot of its players. He says that the more accessible gameplay and lack of realism won’t appeal to those who enjoy EFT.
“This isn’t killing Tarkov, so anybody that was thinking that can rest easy,” he says. “Honestly, it was never a threat, but that’s just me.”
He also paraphrases some of the sentiments that DrLupo expressed during his stream, saying: “If you’re expecting Tarkov, you’re going to be disappointed. This is still Call of Duty.”
So, for all the Tarkov comparisons before launch, it’s safe to say that Warzone 2 DMZ mode is really just the Call of Duty battle royale experience with a sprinkling of EFT flavouring. If anything, DMZ looks to be more of a gateway into the more hardcore experience of Tarkov, rather than something that could be a threat to its popularity.
For more on the core battle royale experience, check out how the new Warzone 2 Gulag works.