Infinity Ward had quite the multiplayer reveal for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, showcasing the Juggernaut and Tactical Nuke kill-streaks along with tanks and larger maps. An interesting revelation was the five flag Domination mode which supports 20v20 players. VG247 spoke to multiplayer design director Geoff Smith at the event for more details.
Smith noted, “We’ve played with higher player counts but it’s just not here today. Those buns are still cooking in the oven.” So while 40 players on one map sounds good, the development team is also experimenting with 64 players on the larger maps and even over 100.
“These battle maps get much bigger. And a higher player count. We play 64 all the time and over a hundred. We’re just trying to find that balance of what is the sweet spot,” said Smith. He also made sure to clarify that this variant of Domination was “not a battle royale.”
When working with larger game modes, Smith said that round time is also a big factor. “A lot of these numbers we noodle all the time, from player count to time, you want it to last a good bit, just so you have that feeling that you can explore a bit and not feel so pressured to achieve an objective.”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare releases on October 25th for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. It will have multiplayer beta in September with PS4 pre-orders getting in the earliest. Open betas will also be held so that everyone gets a chance to try before they buy. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.