TL;DR

A significant portion of the COD player base only plays DMZ, and out of those many have only paid for DMZ PTW skins. Other games are filling the niche, yet DMZ updates (to the Beta, with future modes in mind) would retain a loyal fan base. It's the only mode that's come close to 2020 Warzone hype. The rest is all opinion. 

The Logical Argument

It's fair to say DMZ is the best game mode to come to Call of Duty since Battle Royale. While there are [at least public] reasons for discontinuing developer support, this has led to a market gap that titles such as Gray Zone Warfare will shortly fill. It's not far-fetched to speculate that DMZ's lack of support is part of the reason for the increased interest in extraction shooters.

DMZ's dynamic playstyle led to some intense matches that brought back the rush of Battle Royale's early days. Extractions were rewarding and varied, especially given the opportunity for open-mic negotiations at the Final Exfil, perhaps after a tense gas chase through feral bots with aim-hacks. 

Initially, MWZ looked like it might capture some of that same spirit, but with no PVP, no amount of Zombies were as scary as Vondel's Market during Radiation Spread (seriously have you ever seen it?) What kept players in MWZ was the upgrade-driven dopamine fest that left little need to replay once completed. 

DMZ-related content creators like Dillon are still going strong. It remains more compelling than other game modes due to the variety of scenarios it allows, despite matches now starting with spawn rushes and PVP taking precedence. This content also has a different tone with some creators able to create more story-driven videos (sthormoperator is good at this) which is unheard of in other game modes. 

 

 

 

 

Ultimately what spurred this petition was the feeling of epididymal hypertension one gets at the end of an amazing series, only to find there are no more seasons due to execs cancelling it in 2002. Had the Halloween event not been so fun, this same outcome might have felt less disappointing. 

"Completing Half-Life 2" may have been a better analogy, regardless, the point stands. 

 

 

 

 

The Emotional Argument

The following is my opinion: 

The majority of COD has players, while DMZ is the only mode that could be said to have fans. For all the toxicity (shared by all modes) I've formed genuine friendships within DMZ, which is something I've never found in other modes. It never happened in the years I played Battle Royale, but other's experiences may differ. Even if the DMZ player base is smaller than other modes, this alone makes it something worth cultivating. 

Here are some things the player (/fan) base plays despite: 

• The under-barrel glitch (despite fixing the duplication glitch)
• Blatant Cheats - ESP and Aimbot
• Feral Bots (but they're so cracked it's almost funny)
• Spawn Rushing 
• No Meta Changes (Dragon's Breath, Bryson 1-Doof) 
• PVP taking precedence over missions
• No more missions 
• No more events ("The Haunting of Al Mazra" was amazing)
• No Battle Pass Progression - take note of this because the whole 'Battle Pass' concept is engineered on addiction circuitry, so for players to ignore this is significant
• Increasingly absurd bundles removing realism
• Koschei Glitch (some don't mind it, some do)

The 'Bottom Line' aka '$$$' argument

I've met more players in DMZ (including myself) who have spent more money on DMZ pay-to-win bundles than they ever did on cosmetics within Warzone. With DMZ's revival, there's nothing to stop this from continuing, and the only negative sentiments were around the release of the first couple of bundles where people worried about the PTW aspect.

This might be a moot point given the cinematic for the latest season was an ad for the store. You could however implement more bundles in DMZ that players will buy (15-minute Tonfa please), with little-to-no drops in player satisfaction, so long they're not a half-sized, all-black stick-man with a free RGL (if you do this, I want to name it). 

Note to any investors in Activision/COD:

Go to the DMZ subreddit and search "Standalone":

Or Click Here

This shows many comments talking about how they would purchase DMZ as a standalone game. Regardless of whether or not it's released as such, this has never been said of Warzone: Battle Royale or any other mode. That's significant. Again: COD has 'players', DMZ has fans, and when you have fans, they want to pay - no compulsion or social engineering needed :D

Or to put it in simpler terms: 

DMZ = Money 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for hearing us out. 

P.S. On a personal note can you also give the Crossbow a little buff? Thanks. 

Another Petition I wish I found before writing this:

https://www.change.org/p/save-the-dmz-mode-from-cancellation-by-infinity-ward-activision