It’s been over a year since multiple sources claimed that a remaster of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (MW2) was coming, but we’re still waiting. Here’s everything we know so far about the remaster of a classic.
In March 2018, our sister site CharlieINTEL reported that sources had sent materials from a Raven Software employee, confirming that MW2 remastered was coming – but not as expected.
It was rumored that the remaster would only include campaign, and not the multiplayer portion of the game – the mode it was most famous for.
However, since 2018 was Treyarch’s year to shine, releasing Black Ops 4 in October, everything went silent on these rumors of MW2 remastered, as Activision pushed the next big release.
Now that we are into 2019 though, it means Infinity Ward’s time in the limelight is upon us, and the potential of an MW2 remaster is far more likely this year.
We still don’t know what new title Infinity Ward will release, but it is generally accepted that a fourth entry in the Modern Warfare series will be their strongest move. Pair this with a remaster of perhaps the most beloved MW game, and sales projections will go through the roof.
While no confirmation has yet been made, a new entry on the European Ratings Board titled “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered” popped up on February, giving credence to the various rumors that have popped up over the last few months.
Curiously, it only mentions a campaign, which falls in line with previous leaks that said Multiplayer would be added to the remaster at some point after its initial release.
When is Modern Warfare 2 Remastered being released?
With all the rumors which were swirling in early 2018, some believed we were going to see an MW2 remaster that same year, but evidently we didn’t.
Undoubtedly the most likely release date will be alongside whatever new title Infinity Ward will release in late 2019. Black Ops 4 released in October, but CoD games have typically released in November of each year.
There is every possibility that a ‘Modern Warfare 4’ will drop in October/November 2019, with a remastered version of Modern Warfare 2 bundled in with special editions – just like how Call of Duty: Modern Warfare remastered was released with Infinite Warfare.
Perhaps Modern Warfare 2 Remastered will come earlier though, as players have spotted a sign in Modern Warfare Remastered, on the map ‘Beach Bog’, which says ‘coming Summer 2019’. While this might not be a clue at all, some fans think it could be a sneaky hint at what is in the works.
Will Modern Warfare 2 Remastered have multiplayer?
Reports from CharlieINTEL, Eurogamer and Kotaku all suggested that MW2 remastered would be campaign only – and fans hated this news.
Since everything went quiet, it’s possible that Activision/Infinity Ward saw the backlash to the ‘no multiplayer’ news, and went back to the drawing board.
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When CoD: MWR released with Infinite Warfare, it was originally campaign only, for 30 days. Hopefully, when MW2 remastered drops, it will either have multiplayer on release, or it will be added later – but we can’t confirm anything.
Update: A new leak claims that both Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 will be remastered and released with Modern Warfare 4 – but will campaign only at launch:
[MW4] will come with MW2 & MW3 remastered, campaign only but there was talk of Multiplayer being released on both throughout the year. They don’t want to drop 3 different games with 3 different multiplayers all at once.
Who will develop MW2 Remastered?
Sources have claimed that unlike the original Modern Warfare Remastered, MW2 Remastered will not be developed by Raven Software.
If true, that leaves realistically only three other possibilities – Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Beenox. Infinity Ward will (presumably) have their hands full with MW4, so would surely need to draft in some help.
Sledgehammer have become a mainstay developer in Call of Duty now, but previously worked side-by-side with Infinity Ward on the development on Modern Warfare 3 – so perhaps the studios will team up again to split the workload.
Finally, Beenox, a smaller development team, have been working to support the main CoD dev teams already, and even assisted on the original Modern Warfare remaster. They also went on a hiring spree in 2018 for CoD related roles, so this is the most likely team to be working on MW2 Remastered.
How much will MW2 Remastered cost?
It’s unknown whether MW2 Remastered will drop as a bundled item with 2019’s new release, or as a standalone title.
However, in early 2018, an Amazon Italy listing showed a ‘COD MW2 Remastered’ for PlayStation 4, and it was only €19.99. This price seemed more reasonable if the Remaster was only campaign, however it’s unclear how legitimate this Amazon listing was.
Both BestBuy and Target said in Tweets that they had no information regarding when ‘pre-orders of Modern Warfare 2 Remastered’ would be available – Target later deleted their Tweet however.
Activision has begun making a habit of remastering some of its classics, with Crash Bandicoot and Spyro remasters dropping in 2018 to great commercial success, both at around $30. However, if MW2 Remastered was released with campaign and multiplayer, the price might be a bit higher.
Finally, an unconfirmed leak from someone who claims to be a former QA tester at Treyarch has revealed more details about Modern Warfare 4, and the potential remaster of Modern Warfare 2.
This post will be updated with rumors, news and more as it becomes available. To keep up with all of the latest Modern Warfare 2 Remastered news and more, follow @DexertoIntel and @CharlieINTEL on Twitter.