With the exception of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, every entry in the series has offered a unique campaign for singleplayer fans to enjoy, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be no different. Players have seen various conflicts throughout these games, from the Cold War to entirely fictional futuristic wars. However, despite all the different settings and narratives, the AI in Call of Duty campaigns has been relatively straightforward.
Whether they are glued to cover, standing in place for free kills, or running out into the open and risking their lives, players can find numerous examples of enemy AI making silly mistakes. With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, though, this will hopefully not be the case, as Infinity Ward recently detailed the changes it is making to the AI enemies featured in the upcoming campaign. Based on the video, fans could be in for a more challenging and interesting campaign experience.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Campaign AI Improvements
In a TikTok video from the official Call of Duty Twitter account, Infinity Ward developers broke down the creation process behind the new enemy AI. While it is interesting to see that motion capture work using real Navy SEALS was done to make sequences feel more accurate, the truly interesting part of the footage is how the AI is going to be changed so that “they appreciate their life” instead of taking risks and being easy kills.
Enemy AI will now show stress, running from Task Force 141 members that have killed a bunch of their allies. The AI will also attempt to hunt the player if it feels it is in an advantageous situation, checking behind pieces of cover and looking at areas where players were previously positioned. Both of these things should help greatly with immersion, and they could be particularly noticeable on higher difficulties.
In a perfect scenario, these enemy AI improvements would be comparable to the AI changes in The Last of Us Part 1. In the recently released remake, enemies will ambush players and move between cover in a more realistic way, working together to make combat more interesting and challenging - especially on higher difficulties like Grounded. Those that enjoy playing Call of Duty campaigns on Veteran could be in for a major challenge due to this AI, but instead of the toughness coming from grenade spam like in Call of Duty: World at War, smart enemies could be the cause of any hard sections.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s AI Changes Could Also Mean Big Things For Online Modes
Hopefully, these AI improvements will be making their way to DMZ and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, as both modes are set to incorporate AI enemies in a major way. Clearing out Strongholds in Warzone 2.0 could be a lot less fun if the AI enemies are quick kills that offer no real challenge, and with DMZ being a full-on PvPvE experience, the AI needs to be decent. While the average-at-best AI featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Invasion mode suggests that the improvements are campaign exclusive, hopefully they influence the new Warzone and future online modes that have AI.
While innovations like ledge hangs and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s shared attachments are more apparent, and will have a greater impact on most of the community since they impact online play, campaign lovers should appreciate this change. Hopefully, future Call of Duty campaigns will make note of Infinity Ward’s smarter AI, as the focus on enemies could lead to some much more memorable combat.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launches on October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
