CoD:MW2 (PC) – No Dedicated Servers

Rob Bowling, the community manager for Infinity Ward, participated in a podcast on bashandslash, a CoD and Modern Warfare fan site. While squashing the rumors that the game had been delayed for the PC, he also dropped the bombshell that CoD:MW2 would not be shipping with dedicated server support. The plan instead is to use a new centralized hub for matchmaking, authentication, and cheat protection called IWNet, with the intent of having the PC community more closely resemble the console community (Xbox Live and PSN). This move seems to mimic sister company Blizzard and their plans with Starcraft 2 and Battlenet, which I assume will help cut down on piracy, but will also kill the LAN atmosphere that both of these games were known for.

A recent petition to include dedicated servers in CoD:MW2 is approaching the 145,000 signature mark as I write this, and though more legit than the Left 4 Dead 2 petition, it doesn’t seem that it will affect Infinity Ward’s decision. In a recent interview with Game Informer, Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella had this to say:

“We’re just prioritizing the player experience above the modders and the tuners,” says West. He points toward the mounting feedback IW has received from PC fans of Modern Warfare who couldn’t find a decent server to play on between all of the cheaters, the insular communities, and huge skill level disparities that the original game’s community fractured into. “We thought maybe it would be cool if the fans could play the game,” he laughs.

IW says that gameplay concerns for the majority of MW2 players are the overriding reasons for the decision. Zampella downplays the obvious piracy prevention angle (IW has cited numbers of people online playing illegal copies of Modern Warfare up to 60 percent). “The Steam stuff helps with the piracy. I don’t know that the matchmaking stuff does,” he notes. West takes a shot at the motives behind some of the outrage, noting that there’s money to made by selling dedicated servers and adspace on them: “It’s a little dubious. Some of the people complaining are complaining with their pocketbook.”

Again and again during our conversation, West and Zampella hammer the point that hardcore PC players lose very little to this change relative to the returns that casual to moderate fans will see. Clans can set up private matches to do their training or what have you; all they lose is the ability to customize the game on a deeper level with mods and such. Infinity Ward sees the addition of solid matchmaking and community support like IW-run tournaments to the PC as a huge win, and not something that could be done under the old system.

As an owner of CoD4: Modern Warfare on both the Xbox 360 and the PC, I am somewhat disappointed by this decision. I purchased the 360 version first to play with some friends from work, but found myself missing the creature comforts that the PC offered (including my mouse and keyboard). I missed the community that playing on a few select servers brought, the camaraderie of playing against many of the same people on a nightly basis; the quick turnaround from map to map (no waiting in lobbies); the ability to be in my own Ventrilo server with my own friends, instead of listening to a 14 year old kid question my skill or mention my mother; the ability to find servers playing only the game types that I enjoyed, and having people in there with the same interests; and of course the ability to do 32 and 64 players when I was just looking for some maximum carnage. I had planned on purchasing both versions of CoD:MW2, but will have to rethink that decision now that the lines between console and PC gaming have become blurred.