Warzone players divided over “smaller” Urzikstan map size & reduced player count

Luca Di Marzo
Warzone Urzikstan Helipad

Warzone’s integration with Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 is right around the corner, and players are gearing up to finally explore the new Urzikstan map. Despite the excitement for the new battleground, some players fear the smaller map size and player count could hurt its reception.

Excitement for the new Warzone map is reaching new heights as players get set for a new era of the battle royale. In addition to the new map, Warzone Season 1 will also bring several gameplay changes that players have been calling for since MW2’s integration almost a year ago.

While movement changes and QoL updates have got players eager to jump into Urzikstan on December 6, others are wary of high expectations. This comes after it was revealed that Urzikstan will be 20% smaller than Al Mazrah and feature a player count of 100.

This is a stark contrast to the 150-player lobbies that Warzone players are used to. Naturally, some players were not pleased with the reveal, while others welcomed the downsize with open arms.

Initial reactions to the news of 100-player lobbies for Warzone’s Urzikstan map were split down the middle. Some players didn’t take long to voice their concerns that the smaller player count is “Not good,” or that the map should feature “at LEAST 120” players.

The main concern from players seems to be how the map size and player count will impact the number of engagements across Urzikstan: “Big L. The map is huge, never gonna see other teams.”

Meanwhile, others claimed that the player count is a “huge W,” and that “150 is too much,” when it comes to players in one lobby. The players who didn’t mind the change pointed out that the updated player count could “help the queue times.”

Of course, the final verdict may come down to discovering how the smaller map size will balance out the player count: “Don’t see this as a bad thing. Al Mazrah had so much useless empty space.”

Prior to the map’s release, the Warzone devs took the time to hop on a call with several content creators to explain some of the changes that are on the way. After the call, Warzone content creator iSmixie revealed that the devs “are open to reviewing and changing” the player count.

With so many new features and a brand-new map being implemented into Warzone, the devs will certainly be noting early reactions from the community and making adjustments if necessary.

You’ll have to wait until December 6 to find out if the reduced player count is a decent fit for Urzikstan.

For more Warzone, check out all of the new Perks you’ll be able to use or find out what the Big Game Bounty contract is.

About The Author

Luca is an Associate Editor at CharlieIntel. An accomplished, writer with interests in sports and gaming alike, Luca is focused on Call of Duty and FIFA as a content creator. After earning his BA in English Literature at Concordia University, he began writing for Gamelevate, OddsShark, and H4X. Luca joined CharlieIntel in 2021. You can reach Luca at [email protected], or via X @TheLucaDiMarzo.