Warzone 2 devs respond to DMZ’s Building 21 locked behind Modern Warfare 2 paywall

Nathan Warby
Building 21 in Warzone 2 DMZ

Building 21 is one of Warzone 2 DMZ’s most popular areas, but fans grew concerned after an in-game message said they would need to buy Modern Warfare 2 to access it. Now, the devs have responded to the issue.

Warzone 2’s DMZ mode has been a popular addition since arriving in 2022, retaining a dedicated player base well into Season 3. The Tarkov-inspired mode has grown with each new update, and fans have more ways of earning high-tier loot than ever before.

One of the most popular destinations in DMZ is Building 21, a hotly-contested area full of challenging enemies guarding some of the most valuable contraband in the whole game.

However, during Warzone 2 Season 3, many DMZ players trying to enter Building 21 reported seeing a message that asked them to download the correct DLC pack, despite the fact the mode is free-to-pay as part of Warzone 2.

This led many to believe that Building 21 had been locked behind a paywall, and would require a copy of Modern Warfare 2 to enter going forward.

Twitter user warzonetacmap then shared a screenshot of an email from Activision Support, which seemed to confirm that players must now own Modern Warfare 2 to get inside Building 21.

It said: “To access Building 21, you must first purchase Modern Warfare 2. If not, only the regular DMZ is available for you.”

Players will be relieved to hear, however, that Infinity Ward have cleared things up, reassuring players that this was an unintentional glitch and not a deliberate decision.

In a May 1 tweet, they said: “DMZ’s Building 21 is intended to be free to play for all Warzone 2.0 Players. We have been tracking an issue that placed components of this particular map in a Multiplayer DLC pack, resulting in it being inaccessible for Players who do not own MWII.”

They also confirmed that this issue will be fixed in a future update, after which all players will have access to Building 21, whether they own Modern Warfare 2 or just Warzone 2.

The devs confirm when the fix would go live, but next major update set to hit Warzone 2 is Season 3 Reloaded. That being said, they could also drop a smaller update like the May 1 patch to solve the issue earlier.

Image credit: Activision

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About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer at CharlieIntel. He’s an expert in EA Sports FC, Call of Duty, and Overwatch, as well as superhero games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man. With a master's degree in Magazine Journalism from Nottingham Trent University, he worked as a Trainee Reporter for Derbyshire Live before moving into games media, with bylines at Dexerto, Cultured Vultures, and more. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].