Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Season 1 has just begun, and with it comes a wide variety of content. While much of the Call of Duty community’s focus will be on Warzone 2 and DMZ, there are a few multiplayer-focused additions for fans to appreciate. Alongside the debut of a much-needed combat record, the first battle pass, and seasonal prestiges, players can wield some new weapons on two additional maps. These maps will be very familiar to Modern Warfare 2019 players, though, and they should not be the start of a remake-centric content plan.
Modern Call of Duty players are highly accustomed to remakes, as they have been present within every recent entry. However, some have leaned into the remake trend more than others, and hopefully Infinity Ward is careful not to overdo it when it comes to recycled content. Though many love seeing old maps here and there, a lack of truly new play spaces could be hugely detrimental to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 experience.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Should Not Be Another Black Ops Cold War
Though it launched with a couple more 6v6 maps and a fleshed out Ground War mode, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has already started to evoke similar worries to Black Ops Cold War. With Treyarch’s development rushed alongside work from home conditions being in place, the solid core gameplay of 2020’s Call of Duty game was let down by a small map pool. To compensate, the developer added numerous remakes, with several Black Ops 2 maps and a few Black Ops locations dominating the post launch Seasons.
Though some remakes are obviously welcome, as the series has dozens of classic areas gamers miss playing on, it is hard to deny that Black Ops Cold War’s map remake count was overkill. More often than not, it felt as if remakes were completely overshadowing new maps, with some Seasons bringing multiple old maps or adding just one original location. This made Black Ops Cold War feel less like its own game, lacking a distinct identity beyond its weapons.
Unfortunately, the two “new” Modern Warfare 2 maps in Season 1 suggest that this could be happening once again. Considering that there were only 10 6v6 maps available at launch (with the eleventh map Valderas Museum being removed from the rotation), fans were hoping that they would start to see more brand-new areas as the Seasons progressed. Though this will surely still happen, the first Season suggests that remakes could overpower new ideas, which would be a bummer. For all its flaws, Call of Duty: Vanguard did add many new maps, and it would be great if Modern Warfare 2 did the same.
The Time For Remakes in Modern Warfare 2 Will Likely Come
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 DLC for 2023 has been heavily rumored, and if these leaks turn out to be accurate, every single map from the 2009 game of the same name will be rebuilt. Given the presence of some of these classic maps in Warzone 2’s Al Mazrah, this rumor could absolutely prove true. As such, players could get access to plenty of remakes down the road, so it would make little sense to feature them heavily in the game’s main Seasons as well.
Though Shipment and Shoot House are beloved among fans of small maps, and are leading to the same enjoyable experiences fans grew accustomed to in the 2019 game, they are also a bit worrying. Al Mazrah and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s campaign are full of fresh areas begging to be translated into 6v6 maps, and hopefully this will happen. Perhaps Season 1 features a few remakes and no original maps because it comes so closely after the launch of the game, but for those tired of seeing old play spaces instead of new ones, the content is concerning.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.