Warzone Mobile Producer Explains Reasons Behind Making it a Stand-alone Title
The Warzone Mobile launch in Shibuya played host to various activities to celebrate the worldwide release, but it was also a venue that allowed Executive Producer Tom Hess to share his thoughts on the game.
During the Q&A session, Hess spoke about what key pillar of the original game needed to come over to Warzone Mobile at all costs and how it shaped the development of the game and making it a stand-alone title.
Quality Experience for Newcomers and Veterans
Hess stressed that from its inception, “Relentlessly Warzone” was a key pillar that the development team had in mind. This is a commitment to ensuring that Warzone Mobile captures the essence of Warzone, from maps to vehicles and gameplay, along with delivering the same high-quality, action-packed experience that console and PC players have enjoyed for the past four years.
“What relentlessly Warzone means to us is that the game needs to feel and play like Warzone. You need to have Warzone maps, vehicles, contracts, and gameplay. The weapons need to feel different and allow players to experiment with weapon loadouts,” says Hess. “If you were familiar with Warzone, you could just pick up a phone and start. 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.”
Warzone Mobile’s Key – Cross-progression
Despite being a stand-alone title, the vision extends beyond individual gameplay. Hess and the team aimed to foster connections among players across the entire Call of Duty franchise, which is done by leveraging shared technology and introducing shared progression and social features.
“The goal was to connect players across the Call of Duty franchise in new ways such as shared 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 a higher player count, and Warzone’s unique rule sets and mechanics, including the contracts, the economy, kill streaks, 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 genre.”
Sharing Technology with the Franchise
Being part of the shared ecosystem granted Hess and the team access to content pipelines and gameplay systems across the franchise and allowed them to evolve the game across different maps and anticipate exciting content innovations in the future. This advantage did not deter the team from making it a stand-alone title.
Not only that, but the collaboration with Call of Duty on PC and console allowed the team to scale high-fidelity content seamlessly, ensuring an exceptional gaming experience for every player, regardless of their device.
“The key goals at the beginning of Warzone Mobile’s development have been to ensure it looks and plays amazingly in 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 with various levels to fit the variety of devices each player is gaming on.”
“On top of that, the addition to fully customizable controls, 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, or variable rate sharing, or any combination thereof.”
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is now available worldwide on iOS and Android devices.