Despite receiving some of the best sales in franchise history, reception to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been a bit of a mixed bag. While things started off strong in the first few weeks, with plenty of content for players to enjoy, it's been a good few months now, and fans are starting to notice some significant gaps in Modern Warfare 2's playlists, with particular regards to its complete lack of any iconic party game modes. On launch, Modern Warfare 2 didn't have Gun Game, One in the Chamber, Infected, or any other party mode.
Thankfully, it seems as though Infinity Ward is about to change that. After a bit of a wait, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is finally set to receive its second Season update on February 15, and while it doesn't add a lot of new content to the game, Infinity Ward has teased the return of the beloved Infected mode first introduced in 2011's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Though this is just one confirmed game mode, fans are hoping that this could open the floodgates for more party modes in Modern Warfare 2.
Infected Could Mean More Party Game Modes In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Party modes have been a staple of Call of Duty ever since Call of Duty: Black Ops released in 2010. Debuting as "Wager Match Game Modes," Gun Game, Sticks and Stones, and One in the Chamber all made their first appearances in the first Black Ops, and they became instant fan-favorites, offering more casual, lighthearted action than the more intensive regular modes. These modes also offered some unique gameplay twists. Gun Game encouraged players to be well-versed with all weapons, Sticks and Stones required precision with two of the most tricky weapons in the game, and One in the Chamber often led to chaotic knife fights.
Since 2010, these party modes have appeared in just about every Call of Duty game, offering a fun distraction from each entry's core set of game modes. In 2016, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered added in its own party mode, which marked the first addition in about six years. Heavily inspired by the GMod mode of the same name, Modern Warfare Remastered's Prop Hunt mode sees players hide as various objects around a map, with one player hunting them down.
When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 released in October 2022, many fans were disappointed to find out that the game featured no party modes at all. Unlike most games in the franchise, and even its direct predecessor, Modern Warfare 2 chose to forego party modes completely in favor of a few brand-new modes, such as Prisoner Rescue and Knockout. While Modern Warfare 2 still had plenty of modes and maps, the lack of party modes stripped away an essence of lighthearted fun, and severely limited the options for custom games.
A few days ago, a Twitter user named jasperozzy posted a Tweet stating, "Playing Infected on Call of Duty with friends is the greatest feeling in the world." The official Call of Duty account replied, "We agree. See you Feb 15," seemingly confirming that the fan-favorite mode will be coming to Modern Warfare 2 with the second Season update. Hopefully, this addition can pave the way for other party modes like Gun Game and One in the Chamber to return to Call of Duty, as they've been sorely missed in this latest iteration.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.