Raven Software caught flack for reducing the player count on Area 99, but this change is precisely what the latest Warzone map needed to improve the overall experience.
As part of the November 25 update, Area 99 slightly reduced the player count size. Here is a look at the lobby sizes moving forward.
- Quads: 44 → 40
- Trios: 45 → 42
- Duos: 44 → 40
- Solos: 45 → 40
Raven Software explained that these changes reduce the frequency of third-party interruptions and allow players to loot up and get their loadouts more easily. This is similar to what Warzone did with Al Mazrah.
In August 2023, Al Mazrah controversially reduced the player count from 150 to 100. The development team defended the decision, arguing that it prevented matches from feeling too chaotic, improved matchmaking times, and created faster pre-game lobbies.
Players reacted negatively to both updates, but I believe that a crucial difference justifies the Area 99 reduction.
Why Area 99 is different than Al Mazrah
Al Mazrah is the largest map in Warzone history, but Area 99 is similar to Rebirth Island, the battle royale’s smallest map ever.
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So users had every right to complain with Al Mazrah because matches already slogged along during the middle stages, and this update only made it worse because engagements happened much less frequently.
But with Area 99, the fast-paced gameplay was suffocating and too punishing. Part of it’s a skill issue, and I understand that. But it got old, landing and getting sent back to the menus almost instantaneously if I couldn’t find good enough loot fast enough. And it would be one thing if this only happened at popular drop spots, but it happened everywhere on the map.
Even if I did manage to take out a team quickly in some matches, another enemy would come in and get an easy third-party elimination.
Yet for high-skilled players, bloated lobbies also hurt match flow. There were games with only two or three teams left far too early because everyone else was taken out during the frantic initial landing stage.
Al Mazrah’s player count reduction scorned players because it slowed the pace down to a screeching halt. With Area 99, there will be fewer gunfights at the start. Still, this sacrifice improves the overall experience and makes it easier to get loadout weapons, which is always a request from community members.