Being one of the most anticipated games of the year, fans are desperate to get their hands onCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2as soon as they can. In a bold and smart move, Infinity Ward has decided to releaseModern Warfare 2’s campaigna week early for those who have pre-ordered the game, allowing eager fans to get their fix right away. A few days in and this bold move seems to have been the right one, withModern Warfare 2already achieving impressive player counts on Steam.
According to SteamDB,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2already has a peak concurrent player count of over 94,000 players, with around 30,000 concurrent players currently active at the time of writing. While this peak player count isn’t the highest inCall of Dutyhistory, technically coming in third toBlack Opsand theModern Warfare 2Beta, it’s extremely impressive for a game that technically isn’t even out yet, and it could be used as evidence to suggest that other big campaign modes should go early access in the future.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Steam Success Suggests a Future for Early Access Campaigns
Over the last decade or so,Call of Duty’s focus has shifted quite dramatically to reflect the gaming landscape of the time. Back when the firstCall of Dutyreleased in 2003, single-player campaigns were still the primary form of gaming, even though online multiplayer had started to become more popular. By the timeCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfarereleased in 2007, online multiplayer had become much more of a focus for contemporary AAA games, with titles likeHalo 2and3becoming a phenomenon due to their multiplayer mode.
As online gaming became the norm for the industry, theCall of Dutyfranchise followed suit, and what used to be the series' defining mode quickly became somewhat of an afterthought. By the time ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 3’s release in 2015, the series' campaign mode was taking a clear backseat, both in terms of development and player interest. In 2018, Treyarch made the bold decision to axeBlack Ops 4’s campaign modealtogether, and though some fans were disappointed, it didn’t really affect most players.
The campaign mode hasn’t been the biggest selling point forCall of Dutyin the last few years, but Infinity Ward has found a great way to actually get fans playing the mode. By offering early access toCall of Duty:Modern Warfare 2’s campaign if players pre-order, Infinity Ward has gotten thousands of fans through the door already. While some fans will want to play the game’s campaign early just because they’re hyped, others will want to jump in early to avoid spoilers. It may feel a little non-consumer friendly, but the Steam numbers prove that it works, and those that have played the campaign early seem to be pretty happy with their decision.
While it shouldn’t be the norm for narrative-driven, single-player focused experiences, offering early access to a campaign mode of a larger game could end up being commonplace in the gaming landscape soon. Though spoilers are likely to leak before the general public gets their hands on the game, early access to a game’s campaign mode is a great way to give players a substantial taste of the gameplay experience before it eventually releases, while also ensuring that they’re dropped full price on the title. Though some may disagree, offering early access to a game’s campaign could be seen as a win-win for both the developer and the player, and the success ofModern Warfare 2’s early launchcould pave the way for future titles to do the same.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2launches on October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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