Call of Duty: World at War Multiplayer Nearly Had a Much Larger Focus on Vehicles
Dataminers have uncovered evidence that Call of Duty: World at War’s multiplayer modes were originally designed with a significantly larger focus on vehicle combat than the final release featured. The discovery suggests that developer Treyarch experimented extensively with vehicles during the game’s development phase.
While the final version of World at War did include vehicles in its multiplayer maps, this cut content indicates that vehicle gameplay was once considered a more central pillar of the multiplayer experience. This reflects the broader experimentation happening within the Call of Duty franchise during the mid-to-late 2000s, as the series was actively defining the formula that would shape multiplayer gaming for decades to come.
Both Call of Duty 3 and World at War featured accessible vehicle mechanics in their multiplayer modes, allowing players to freely enter and operate vehicles in combat. However, the datamined content suggests World at War’s original design called for even greater vehicle emphasis before development decisions led to the more infantry-focused multiplayer that shipped with the final release.