Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty is a series that’s seen classics like Modern Warfare and World At War or the Black Ops subseries of titles. They’re first-person shooters designed by Activision Blizzard, and the latest title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, is a continuation of the 2019 Modern Warfare, not a remaster of the 2011 classic on Xbox 360.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is set to release in about three weeks, and with the new release, up until now, there’s been substantial amounts of information. Here’s what you need to know about Activision Blizzard’s next big Call of Duty venture.

Release date, pricing, and platforms

Activision Blizzard releases Modern Warfare 2 on October 28th, 2022, for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC via Battle.net and Steam. There will be cross-play between all these platforms.

Pre-orders for the game are open right now, and you can preorder either the base game (Cross-Gen Bundle on console) or the Vault Edition. The default (Cross-Gen Bundle) pre-order is priced at $69.99 and includes the following:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) base game (last-gen and current-gen versions)
• Campaign access one week early
• Final Judgement Bundle (includes Deathknell Operator skin and Bloodthirsty weapon blueprint for use in Call of Duty Vanguard and Call of Duty Warzone)
• The Oni Operator Pack (PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 exclusively)

If you want to pre-order the Vault Edition (priced at $99.99), it includes:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) base game (last-gen and current-gen versions)
• Campaign access one week early
• the Final Judgement Bundle
• The Oni Operator Pack (PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 exclusively)
• Season 1’s Battle Pass + 50 Tier Skips
• Ghost Legacy Pack DLC
• Red Team 141 Operator Pack
• FJX Cinder Weapon Vault

The pre-order details show that Activision Blizzard’s next Call of Duty game will have battle passes (like many games these days do), and grabbing the Vault Edition will let you skip 50 tiers. Whether that’s half of it or two-thirds isn’t clear yet, but we’ll know when the game launches.

Something interesting about this game’s release is that it marks a return to Steam for Call of Duty. For reference, Call of Duty’s relationship with Valve’s storefront has been on a hiatus since WWII back in 2017. Modern Warfare 2019 was completely absent from Steam, as were Black Ops 4, Black Ops: Cold War, and Vanguard.

New Game Modes and Changes

The latest installment in the Call of Duty series will introduce several new changes and modes that will spice things up. Modern Warfare 2 will bring new abilities, an overhauled vehicle system that allows players to lean out of vehicle windows or mantle onto a vehicle roof. Swimming mechanics have been added thanks to the addition of water physics, and it is also possible to dive into the prone position, mantle, and ledge hang.

The leveling and Gunsmith system has been revamped, allowing players to fine-tune specific attachments to suit their playstyles. Modern Warfare 2 will also bring several new game modes. Here's a list of the competitive game modes that will be available in the game:

• Team Deathmatch: Two teams of 6 players face off against each other to get kills and reach a score of 75. This has to be done under a time limit that will end games if the score limit is not reached.
• Domination: Players must capture and hold three objectives to earn points. While there's no time limit in this mode, it will continue until either team reaches 200 points.
• Invasion: 40 players face off against AI enemies in a 20v20 elimination match. This is a large-scale mode in which players and their opponents go in an all-out war.
• Ground War: Huge teams of 32 players will have to battle for supremacy by capturing and holding objectives in this large-scale mode.
• Prisoner Rescue: A hostage situation is the background set for this mode. One team of 6 players will have to locate hostages and extract them. The second team is tasked with eliminating the opposing force. However, it's also worth noting that there are no respawns in this mode, and only team revives will bring players back.
• Knock Out: This game mode also has no respawns, much like Prisoner Rescue. In it, you can hold a package to earn points and win. Players face off in a 6v6 elimination match where scoring the most points wins the game.
• Hardpoint: In this mode, you have to defend a moving objective to earn points. In this 6v6 mode,  you must play in round-based matches where the winner must reach a score limit.
• Search and Destroy: There are no respawns in this mode. The game mode will see one team planting a bomb while the other defends the objective. Once the bomb is planted, it has to be defused before the explosion. This game mode offers short and quick rounds with an added spice of tactical gameplay.

There is a third-person mode, too, for those interested in that kind of gameplay. Furthermore, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 even has co-op content, thanks to the Special Ops (for two players) and the post-launch Raids (for up to three players).

PC System Requirements and Features

To run Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on your personal computer, you’ll need to meet or exceed the following specifications:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
• RAM: 8GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or AMD Radeon RX 470
• VRAM: 2GB
• Storage: 25GB minimum

The recommended specs are as follows:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K or AMD Ryzen 7 1800X
• RAM: 16GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or AMD Radeon RX 580
• VRAM: 2GB
• Storage: 25GB minimum

Regarding PC features, the developers confirmed Ultrawide (21:9) support, NVIDIA DLSS 2, AMD FSR 1.0, and Intel XeSS support. There will be over 500 customizable settings, though ray tracing may not be one of them, even though it was available in recent Call of Duty installments.

Last but not least, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for PC ships with the new version of the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat software and its kernel-level driver. Additionally, it's been confirmed that RTX 40 series users (namely the 4090) will have a very smooth experience as the game's campaign has been shown to run at over 100 FPS in Native 4K resolution.

Modern Warfare 2 Beta Changes and Rewards

Between Modern Warfare 2’s beta last month and now, changes were announced that were meant to balance a few things based on the data collected. The changes include tweaking the game’s audio balancing for other players’ footsteps, some unnamed weapon tuning, and other bug fixes needed.

On the topic of the beta, it’s garnered record-setting numbers for the series, with fifteen million pre-registrations, according to Activision. Players who participated in the beta will receive additional rewards on day one and the weekend after, which include the following for Week 1:

• “Smashed It” animated emblem
• “Buckle Up” charm
• “Passed the Test” animated player card
• “Operation First Blood” sticker
• “Side Impact” weapon blueprint

Week 2’s rewards will be as follows.

• “Collision” operator skin
• “No Competition” vinyl
• “Safety First” sticker
• “Floor It” vehicle skin
• “Frontal Impact” weapon blueprint

You’ll unlock these exclusive rewards through gameplay, but players who were not in the open beta will not have access to these cosmetics and blueprints. These rewards will also be available in Warzone 2.0 when that launches on November 16th, 2022 (Warzone 2.0 will be unavailable on Steam).

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign and Multiplayer Access

If you look back at the pre-order benefits, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 mentions that you’ll be able to play the single-player campaign (think “story mode” in other genres) a week early. Activision confirms that this will be a reality, and if you’ve pre-ordered the game, you’ll be able to download and run the campaign on October 20th, 2022. The rest of the game (multiplayer, Spec Ops mode, and more) will open up on the 28th, as originally stated.

The game’s campaign follows Task Force 141, made of new and returning characters (such as Price, Gaz, Ghost, Soap, Kate Laswell, and Farah Karim) as they face off against a new world terror with unknown but deep connections. The campaign begins when a missile strike from the US kills a foreign general. Task Force 141 is then called to contain the situation while fighting the terrorist group al-Qatala and the drug cartel Las Almas. Missions will take place in Asia, the Americas, and Europe, placing the player in various setpieces, including underwater combat, explosive assaults from high in the sky, and stealth missions.

As for the multiplayer, you’ll have to wait for the 28th to get your hands on it. Though it should be noted that the Campaign's early access is exclusive to digital storefronts, and physical copies will not get this feature, meaning if you’ve pre-ordered the game physically, you’ll have to wait like everyone else for Day One.

Trailers and gameplay footage

Activision Blizzard has launched a metric ton of trailers for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, and you can view many of them below.

https://youtu.be/OeVapCrI1pY

https://youtu.be/tnsOrbljnK0

https://youtu.be/r72GP1PIZa0