Warzone 2 players fear for Ashika Island as AI arrive

Liam Mackay
Warzone 2 players on Ashika Island

Call of Duty: Warzone 2’s AI has been a controversial feature since its launch, and players are worried about the gameplay loop as bots have arrived on Ashika Island as well.

Warzone 2 players have been absolutely loving the new Ashika Island Resurgence map thanks to its setting and fast-paced gameplay, but a new addition has players worried about its gameplay loop.

The community was immediately concerned that AI would ruin Ashika Island, but, to the delight of many, Shadow Company NPCs weren’t included in Resurgence at launch. However, that changed with the arrival of the new Search & Seizure contract.

Raven Software announced on February 21 that the Search & Seizure contract was live in Ashika Island, and it’s brought AI to the small Warzone 2 map. This contract tasks players with defeating AI soldiers that are guarding vehicles and then driving the vehicle to safety while avoiding “retaliatory airstrikes.”

The devs confirmed that “Enemy A.I. Combatants only spawn during a Search & Seizure Contract and the upcoming Data Heist Public Event,” but many would prefer that AI were left off Ashika Island completely.

The replies to Raven’s Twitter thread were full of players bemoaning AI’s addition. “Leave that crap on the big map,” replied one user. “Ashika Island is already chaotic enough.”

“So out of touch and it’s so sad,” said another, and YouTuber HunterTV encouraged the devs to remove the contract because “this ain’t DMZ.”

The Warzone 2 community on Reddit was just as unimpressed. Under a post titled, “AI coming to Ashika Island…say it ain’t so,” players slammed the decision.

User Nintendo_Pro_03 asked the devs: “Can A.I. please stop being their top concern at this point? Other things need improving.” Another chimed in, “AI is the last f**king thing they need to focus on, there’s so many other bugs and sh*t they need to focus on.”

The devs seem especially proud of their AI but we’ll need to wait and see if community sentiment changes their approach in future updates such as Season 2 Reloaded or even Season 3.

Image Credit: Activision