Many fans of the series consider Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 the pinnacle of the franchise's iconic multiplayer iterations. Taking the revolutionary popularity of the original Modern Warfare and largely honing and improving many aspects, Modern Warfare 2's version of Call of Duty multiplayer set the bar high. Remaining popular during and after the game's annual lifespan, Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer was the franchise's peak during the seventh generation console generation.
Now, with the remaster out on PS4, Activision has made it clear that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered will not include the multiplayer now or later. While Infinity Ward and Activision focus on the recently released reboot of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sub-series, there's no multiplayer remaster in development at this time (though a trustworthy CoD source 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 to why a Modern Warfare 2 remaster does not include the highly praised multiplayer portion of the game. Development has shifted mainly towards consistently supporting the multiplayer portion of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot, as well as separately supporting Warzone as well. According to the Activision Games Blog, remastering Modern 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 Warfare universe 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 original Modern Warfare 2 and integrate them into 2019's Modern Warfare multiplayer. That's not to invalidate Modern Warfare 2's campaign, which still holds up relatively well in 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 a Modern Warfare 2 remaster is missing two fundamental parts of its package.
A Definitive Shooter Experience
There's a lot to love about Modern Warfare 2 in general, but the praise of its multiplayer is not a case of fans looking back through nostalgia goggles. In a lot of ways, the second Modern Warfare game'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 clear Modern Warfare 2 dedicated 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 in Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer, 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 iconic Call of Duty weapons of all time (Intervention, SCAR, Model 1887, Raffica) came from Modern Warfare 2. The reason why the Modern Warfare reboot will be adding back legacy maps is because many Modern Warfare 2 map 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 newer Call of Duty entries in the franchise. Even on Xbox, games like Halo: Reach couldn't surpass Modern 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 time Modern Warfare 2 crafted a sense of progression better than the rest.
Leaving Multiplayer Behind is a Mistake
Releasing a remastered version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 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's Modern Warfare multiplayer primarily. At the same time, it's not like Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer would steal the reboot's thunder, considering the game's been too busy breaking sales records for the franchise anyway.
2019's Modern Warfare has already cemented itself as massively successful, especially with the addition of the popular Warzone battle royale game. Compared to 2009's Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer, 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 that Modern Warfare 2 Remastered still has multiplayer in the works, it would be a positive move for Activision to release a core part of the Modern Warfare 2 experience. Until then, players can at least still experience the campy but fun campaign of Modern Warfare 2, while hopefully trying to shake that feeling of something's missing.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is available now for PS4 and coming to PC and Xbox One on April 30, 2020.