Many Call of Duty fans long to return to simpler times, back before jump packs and robots populated the TV screen and COD Points were only associated with fishing tournaments. While Activision has made a point of going back to "boots on the ground" combat, it's pretty unlikely fans will ever see another entry like what they were once accustomed to. Luckily for players on Xbox One, though, they no longer have to wait for a more traditional entry, as the pinnacle of Call of Duty has just been delivered to them via Xbox's backward compatibility feature.

Xbox's Major Nelson announced today that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had been added to the backward compatibility lineup, meaning players can once again attempt to settle disagreements with their friends on the fan-favorite map Rust. Gamers looking for a nostalgia trip can pick Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 up for $14.99 for the next week if they have a Gold membership, after that, the game will return to its usual $19.99 price point.

It's interesting that it took this long for Modern Warfare 2 to make its way to the backward compatibility program. The first-person shooter from Infinity Ward is considered by many to be the greatest game in the franchise, so its absence had raised many questions. One common theory was that the game was being remastered, so Activision didn't want to re-release the game and risk hurting the remaster's potential sales. Activision allowing the game to be released to backward compatibility does, however, raise some doubts about a potential remaster.

Backward compatibility has been one of the greatest features on the Xbox platform since its announcement at E3 2015. It offers developers a chance to release games to an entirely new audience, and gives gamers a reason to hold onto their older titles.

Most importantly, the backward compatibility program helps preserve games that have gotten older and rarer, especially now that original Xbox games are featured on the program. It's another way that Xbox has helped push games further this generation, much like they're doing with their new All Access subscription. Hopefully, Xbox will continue, or even ramp up, support for the program, and more highly coveted releases like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be added in the future.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now via Xbox's backward compatibility program.

Source: Larry Hryb – Twitter