If comments made by Infinity Ward community manager, Robert Bowling, are to be believed, then Modern Warfare 2 (MW2) will adopt a very different online multiplayer component to that of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (CoD4).
According to Bowling, MW2 for PC will not make use of dedicated servers in the same manner which its predecessor does. This means that the likes of SAIX and iGame will not be able to host public servers for the game.
The game will instead rely on a P2P private networking solution. This means that players will have to create private matches with friends, and there will no longer be the option to simply drop-in to public open games running on third party servers. Instead of using Punkbuster, as does CoD4, MW2 will run alongside STEAM and will use IW.NET.
The implications of this setup could be potentially disastrous for the local competitive MW2 community. If Bowling is completely correct, then there will be no clan servers, and instead Clans will have to interface using listening servers. It also means that there will be no modding in MW2, which means that it will not be possible to use “Promod”, the competitive standard modification.
While it will be possible to use custom settings for private matches, it remains unknown to what extent players will be able to do so. Infinity Ward will be able to upload a standard competitive mode to the IW.NET, but this remains unconfirmed.
This news comes following the announcement that the PC version will now retail for R499, a fact which most PC gamers could live with due to the value proposition present in the multiplayer component of the game. However, with the value of the multiplayer being called into question, it remains to be seen if PC gamers will still be happy to pay the inflated price.
Jonathan Smit of iGame had this to say on the matter “iGame is currently in contact with Infinity Ward to discuss the possibility of localized servers using a custom structure other than IW.NET matchmaking”
The full interview is available on Bashandslash
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