The user interface (UI) in Call of Duty has become a major source of frustration and heated debates among players. Fans are struggling with Infinity Ward’s new menu system in the latest Modern Warfare 2 game, raising the question: what steps is Infinity Ward taking to fix this?
In the past three years, Infinity Ward has brought in senior professionals and experienced former TV workers to their UI/UX team. Despite the team’s growth and the infusion of new talent during development, players are finding Modern Warfare 2’s menu system confusing and difficult to navigate. This is a stark contrast to the intuitive designs of earlier Call of Duty games.
UI and UX are crucial for the overall quality of a game; they can greatly influence the player’s experience. However, internal issues, such as departmental disagreements and complicated workflows, have led to the problematic UI players are now dealing with. Before the game’s release, there were internal discussions and warnings that the UI was “difficult and intrusive,” potentially undermining gameplay.
Changing Call of Duty’s UI
With the launch of Warzone and Call of Duty: Mobile, it became clear that Activision aims to modernize the game’s interfaces for easier content discovery and store navigation. Infinity Ward plans to completely revamp the UI/UX system in what they’re calling a “major redesign and rebrand.” They’re launching new features like Call of Duty’s first subscription service and a mobile application concept, while also restructuring the content discovery and store architecture.
To achieve this, Infinity Ward has opened up numerous UI/UX and engineering positions, hiring experts from companies like Hulu and Microsoft. Design overhauls are always challenging and polarizing, as they require collaboration across several major departments, including Art, Design, QA, and Marketing.
The main challenges have been timing, coordination, and the complexities of remote work. According to an insider, there are plans for UI/UX revisions in the future updates for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0. They mentioned, “It’s a work in progress, with many moving parts… updates are well underway.”
It appears that Infinity Ward will gradually improve the UI/UX in stages rather than making all changes at once. Multiple departments are continuing to work together to refine the UI and additional interfaces for Season 1 and beyond.