How Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's writers constructed its fictional Mexican city

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One writer even interviewed Mexican special forces about some hush-hush topics

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) screenshot
(Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's lead writer has shed more light on its fictional city.

That city would be Las Almas, where part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's globe-trotting narrative takes place. Play Magazine recently spoke with lead writer Brian Bloom, who revealed that rather than put the Mexico section of Modern Warfare 2 in a real city, developer Infinity Ward instead created a fictitious city called Las Almas.

"We created this fictional place called Las Almas, the City Of Souls," Bloom told Play Magazine. "When Ghost and Soap arrive in Mexico, Soap says, 'I've never been to Mexico.' He tells Alejandro and Alejandro goes out of his way to tell them, 'This isn’t Mexico, this is Las Almas.' So he becomes our kind of reliable narrator on this journey into a new place that has its own rules and its own set of problems and its own challenges."

However, this doesn't mean Modern Warfare 2 is dividing the real and the fictitious. "As we’re doing our research for some of the Mexican elements of the story we were in touch with the DEA and Mexican special forces," Bloom revealed. The head writer went on to reveal that he even asked the special forces about who Modern Warfare 2's protagonists would get in touch with if they had to "get into a foxhole."

The special forces contact actually revealed who they would theoretically get in touch with, but Bloom couldn't disclose that information. The writer was keen to stress that Alejandro Vargas isn't based on this individual, but "a lot of the DNA and some of the first principal aspects of creating the character came from that research."

Elsewhere in Play Magazine's latest issue, Bloom and other lead Modern Warfare 2 developers explained why the new game is more about its characters than "shocking the audience." Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launches later this year on October 28, but if you pre-order the sequel digitally, you'll get access to the campaign a whole week in advance. 

Check out our guide to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta dates to see when you can get in on the action. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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