Just days after its anticipated launch, Activision served a cease and desist to the people behind a hugely ambitious and increasingly popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered mod. It takes the multiplayer from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 and folds it into the Call of Duty 4 remaster.

Sales of the game have been skyrocketing on Steam in response to the mod’s arrival, but now that excitement is for nought.

The mod being struck down isn’t a surprise, especially after gameplay began going viral on social media and renowned content creators started making their own videos about it. The fan-made mod makes use of an officially released version of Modern Warfare Remastered, and in the eyes of Activision, it doesn’t like fans playing with products or manipulating them into something that it isn’t going to see any profits from (even if said mod boosted sales). Players don’t usually make money from these kinds of projects aside from support to keep servers running or help with operational costs, but that alone is too much.

Bethesda is the perfect example of a major developer allowing its fans to go to town with handcrafted mods, to the point where entire games and expansions are made with Skyrim and Fallout 4 as blueprints. Not once has it been hurt by their existence, and it even brought mods to the original two Doom games on console just last week.

And so the project is no more, with H2Multiplayer immediately responding to the cease and desist order by permanently shutting down operations. Just days earlier, it was promoting the fact that Modern Warfare Remastered was on sale and people needed it to access the mod, an action that was directly putting money into Activision’s pockets. I’m surprised they didn’t see the alarm bells at this point, since the second a fan remake, mod, or similar project of such a magnitude enters the zeitgeist, it’s only a matter of time until corporations come knocking.

I understand the desire to protect copyright, and keep the runway clear for future products that might return to the well and pull out past single player campaigns and multiplayer modes only to charge for the privilege. Activision has done this before, not to mention a half-baked remaster of Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer can be found in Modern Warfare 3, with a laundry list of returning maps inlieu of new ones, even if they changed the visuals to such a huge extent that some now feel unrecognisable. This isn’t the game people want to play.

Obviously, there are some exceptions to the rule. If the mod depicts illegal behaviour or paints a game or company in a tremendously unfair light, there is a need to take action. But I think these instances are few and far between, especially the cases that make headlines.

Modern Warfare 2 originally released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2009, and while its multiplayer servers are still online to this day, the concurrent player count is low and many of its once prosperous lobbies are now prone to hackers, because Activision doesn’t care anymore. It doesn’t care about most entries in the franchise the second a new one comes along, since capitalism dictates they put all of their resources and attention into the next big thing or fall behind. It doesn’t matter if it’s not what hardcore players want, and the death of this popular mod is crystal clear proof of that.

Fans saw a thing they loved was fading away and sought to recreate it in an updated form in the confines of a remaster that was already fading in popularity. They didn’t step on toes nor demand compensation for the mod’s creation. If anything, they encouraged players to jump in together and try to emulate the multiplayer community so many of us grew up alongside. Any chance of that being a success has been wiped away because a corporation is scared that it will watch as profits pass it by, or it wants to keep Modern Warfare 2 in its back pocket for the future in case it needs to once again weaponise our nostalgia on a rainy day...

Over the years, we have seen countless incredible mods, fan games, and similar projects shut down unceremoniously, and often the blame is placed on the press for daring to shine a spotlight on them in the first place.

The thing is, if any of these things are going to attract their desired audiences and receive the attention they deserve, they will all get to a place where corporations will come knocking and demand the whole thing stops immediately. It’s in their dire, selfish interest to stamp down on any form of creativity that doesn’t serve their bottom line, even if it revives dying products or only serves to paint their games in a positive light.

I will never understand it, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the more awful aspects of this industry that will never cease to be, especially if we continue heading in a direction where a few big players control the majority of things we play and interact with. Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most iconic multiplayer shooters in history, and a few passionate fans wanting to bring it back to life are having their efforts squandered. And for what?

Your Rating

close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10

Your comment has not been saved

Like

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

Shooter Systems Released November 10, 2009 ESRB M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs Developer(s) Infinity Ward Publisher(s) Activision Multiplayer Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer Franchise Call of Duty
Where to play Close

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 stands as one of the best releases in the Call of Duty franchise. The 2009 title helped to elevate the series to new heights thanks to its fine-tuned gameplay, an array of entertaining game modes, and engaging gunplay.

Powered by Expand Collapse