Many fans of the series considerCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2the pinnacle of the franchise’s iconic multiplayer iterations. Taking the revolutionary popularity of the originalModern Warfareand largely honing and improving many aspects,Modern Warfare 2’s version ofCall of Dutymultiplayer set the bar high. Remaining popular during and after the game’s annual lifespan,Modern Warfare 2multiplayer was the franchise’s peak during the seventh generation console generation.
Now, with the remaster out on PS4, Activision has made it clear thatCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remasteredwill not include the multiplayer now or later. While Infinity Ward and Activision focus on the recently released reboot of theCall of Duty: Modern Warfaresub-series, there’s no multiplayer remaster in development at this time (though a trustworthyCoDsource says otherwise). This decision has understandably been met by some ire from fans, and while Activision did explain its reasoning behind the decision, it may still be a mistake in the long run.
Activision on Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Remaster
Activision has provided a statement regarding its decision and reasoning as towhy aModern Warfare 2remaster does not include the highly praised multiplayerportion of the game. Development has shifted mainly towards consistently supporting the multiplayer portion ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfarereboot, as well as separately supportingWarzoneas well. According to the Activision Games Blog, remasteringModern Warfare 2’s Multiplayer and Spec Ops modes was not considered because Infinity Ward wants to keep the existing playerbase within a cross-play environment “seamlessly in one unified online multiplayer playground.”
Infinity Ward later on stated, “Rather than release a separate, multiplayer experience as a standalone pack, Activision and Infinity Ward are looking to bring more classic map experiences to new life within the [new]Modern Warfareuniverse as it continues to grow and build over time.” Instead of giving players a remastered version of the original multiplayer experience, Infinity Ward would prefer to remaster certain maps from the originalModern Warfare 2and integrate them into 2019’sModern Warfaremultiplayer. That’s not to invalidateModern Warfare 2’s campaign, which still holds up relatively wellin retrospect. From a business standpoint, it makes sense not to segment the existing player base, but at the same time, it does make it seem like aModern Warfare 2remaster is missing two fundamental parts of its package.
A Definitive Shooter Experience
There’s a lot to love aboutModern Warfare 2in general, but the praise of its multiplayer is not a case of fans looking back through nostalgia goggles. In a lot of ways, the secondModern Warfaregame’s multiplayer improved on the greatest aspects of the previous game whilst adding tons more depth to the experience. With visuals, progression, and new unlocks, it was clearModern Warfare 2dedicated a lot more development focus on the multiplayer compared to the campaign, and it showed.
Aside from just playing for fun, there was always a goal to work towards inModern Warfare 2multiplayer, which is part of the reason why it was so popular and well liked. Granted the competitive balance wasn’t the greatest at times, yet for the most part. it was a pretty consistently enjoyable experience. Some of the most iconicCall of Dutyweapons of all time (Intervention, SCAR, Model 1887, Raffica) came fromModern Warfare 2. The reason why theModern Warfarereboot will be adding back legacy maps is because manyModern Warfare 2map design added a lot more detail and diversity to the standard three-lane layout.
All of these factors contributed to what was one of the most engrossing multiplayer experiences from a first-person-shooter period, even when compared to newerCall of Dutyentries in the franchise. Even on Xbox,games likeHalo: Reachcouldn’t surpassModern Warfare 2’s massive success. There was always the next weapon, the next camo goal, the next perk, etc. to which each unlockable was spaced out and balanced perfectly for the 70 ranks per Prestige. Pacing is not always talked about when analyzing the merit of a competitive multiplayer game, but at the timeModern Warfare 2crafted a sense of progression better than the rest.
Leaving Multiplayer Behind is a Mistake
Releasing a remastered version ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2in such a segmented fashion is at first very perplexing. While Activison’s reasoning isn’t exactly the most sound from a consumer’s perspective, it does technically make sense if development is focused on 2019’sModern Warfaremultiplayer primarily. At the same time, it’s not likeModern Warfare 2’s multiplayer would steal the reboot’s thunder, consideringthe game’s been too busy breaking sales recordsfor the franchise anyway.
2019’sModern Warfarehas already cemented itself as massively successful, especially with the addition ofthe popularWarzonebattle royale game. Compared to 2009’sModern Warfare 2multiplayer, the two are still fundamentally different in comparison. The bones of a tight and fine tuned first-person-shooter are there, but there’s plenty of gameplay differences between the two games that distinctly set them apart. Despite nostalgia being a powerful tool, players don’t typically stick around for too long with remasters anyway.
Assuming a new rumor stating thatModern Warfare 2 Remasteredstill has multiplayer in the works, it would be a positive move for Activision to release a core part of theModern Warfare 2experience. Until then, players can at least still experience the campy but fun campaign ofModern Warfare 2, while hopefully trying to shake that feeling of something’s missing.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remasteredis available now for PS4 and coming to PC and Xbox One on July 05, 2025.
