Infinity Ward: Modern Warfare 2 for Fans Not Modders

Anyone angry about Infinity Ward dropping support for dedicated servers in Modern Warfare 2 for PC? Well, get to the back of the line – a petition online has almost hit 120,000 signatures, showing that this is surely something that matters to a lot of gamers (or that there is a small percentage of the expected millions of purchasers who like to sign petitions?)

Don't worry about being ignored though, because Infinity Ward hears you loud and clear. It's just not backing down on the decision. The studio's Community Manager Robert Bowling had seen the dissent growing on the Internet and wrote a direct message on Twitter about the complaints.

"Definitely made a big wave, and the response will not be ignored. I'll ensure everyone at IW sees the petitions and responds to it."

Unfortunately, it seems the anger fell on deaf ears, as Infinity Ward head Jason West replied directly to the increasingly negative reaction from the fanbase; "We're just prioritising the player experience above the modders and the tuners. We thought maybe it would be cool if the fans could play the game."

Oh snap. It's on. It's probably worth noting that 'modders/tuners' and 'fans' aren't mutually exclusive terms, there. If a lot of people who enjoyed hosting matches on dedicated servers were annoyed at the matchmaking only feature, they're bound to be pissed at the implication that they're not fans of the game.

Bowling takes over to do some damage control, stating that hardcore gamers won't miss out by using the new system, dubbed IW.net. Be default, the matchmaking service will mean no browsing through server lists, which in turn removes the ability to host a match on your own rig. PC gamers seem to be advocates of server lists as it allows them to analyse any potential of lag.

The Community Manager assures players that IW.net won't compromise on network stability and that the system ensures the best performance, with players at the same skill level every time you search for a game. Players can also avoid cheaters and hackers as well, which is a pretty nice benefit.

Bowling said, "IWNET takes the benefits of dedicated servers and allows them to be utilized and accessed by every player, out of the box, while removing the barrier to entry for players unaware of how to maintain a server on their own.

"All in all, IWNET adds a load of new features that the PC version of our games have never had before and allows us an infrastructure to continue to update and improve on the game post-launch," he concluded.

But for all its impressive sounding features, the main point of contention for those that signed the petition is the apparent lack of choice.

You can read his full blog post on why IWNET works for gamers here.

Modern Warfare 2 will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on 10th November.

^{Hat Tip to GameZine).}