June 8, 2022

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the sequel to 2019’s blockbuster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has at long last been revealed with the very first gameplay trailer.

As you might imagine Activision are keen to reinforce that this latest CoD will deliver “the most ambitious and innovative Call of Duty to date, ushering in a new era for the franchise”. If you’ve someone managed to skip over the trailer, you can watch it just below, but it more or less focuses on Task Force 141 who return for another globe-trotting  campaign.

There’s an awful lot more info to unpack, not just from the trailer, but also from previews, interviews with the developers and small easter eggs spotted by fans. So to bring you up to speed, he’s a quick recap of the most important info that’s been announced (or noticed) following the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 reveal earlier today.

1. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Is Out October

Right, let’s cut to arguably the most important detail from today’s big reveal.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be available globally on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Battle.net and Steam on Friday October 28th, 2022.

Yes, that’s right. The game is returning to an October release date. The last time CoD launched in October, was in 2019. With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare…

2. Despite Xbox Buying Activision, The Open Beta Will Still Come To PlayStation FIRST

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Open Beta will be free across all platforms, with players who pre-order gaining early access. However, the open beta will be available first on PS5 and PS4.

In fact, the small print clarifies that the open beta will be available “at least 5 days earlier than any other platform”.

3. Modern Warfare 2 makes major movement changes, including Sliding, diving, swimming & more

Previews have revealed that players movement options will be getting an upgrade in Modern Warfare 2

Sliding returns, although there’s no word on slide cancel. Diving also returns, having last been used in many years ago in Call of Duty: World War II.

Swimming is also a major new advancement for the game, as it will play a big part in Warzone 2 with the map adding a huge body of water. It’s also been confirmed that players cannot fire their primary weapon. You’ll only be able to use pistols and melee whilst underwater.

The final new ability is called “ledge-hanging”, which Charlie Intel describes as like being able to “pull yourself up from a ledge and peek over the top”. So for instance you might be able to peek over a window having pulled yourself up, or look around corners or ledges. Sounds kinda cool if you’re trying to remain covert.

4. Gunsmith returns in Modern Warfare 2

The gunsmith returns with the release of Modern Warfare 2 providing players with a massive amount of weapon customization.

It’s not yet confirmed but it’s expected that each Modern Warfare 2 weapon will have around 70 attachments you can unlock. It’s also expected that each weapon will have fewer than Call of Duty: Vanguard’s total of ten attachments.

One of the most striking changes that’s been mentioned in previews is that Gunsmith will allow players to customize weapon attachments for the first time.

So players will now be able to adjust their attachments to suit their playstyles. In the example given by Charlie Intel‘s preview, players will be able to take a standard Stock attachment and then add movement speed and reduces recoil control.

“You’ll be able to adjust the extent to which movement speed is increased and recoil control is decreased via attachment tuning,” Charlie Intel explained.

5. There’s now a new Helicopter Troop Carrier

Infinity Ward confirmed that the game will include one new vehicle coming to both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 in the form of the Helicopter Troop Carrier.

You can probably guess what this is, but for those in doubt, it’s a bit like a flying armoured truck. This helicopter will have room for two pilot seats, however, the back of the helicopter will allow players to free roam and even shoot out of the back of the chopper.

6. Your Warzone inventory will not transfer to Warzone 2

Activision’s blog confirmed that Warzone 2 is a brand new start for the game and as such Infinite Ward confirmed that inventories will reset for Warzone 2.

“Warzone 2.0 will feature new Modern Warfare II content and systems with brand-new progression and inventories. Today’s Warzone will continue as a separate experience that will include a continuation of player progression and inventories within that Warzone experience. We can’t wait to share more details soon.”

7. Warzone 2’s Highrise location may have been snuck into the trailer.

In a blink and you’ll miss it moment, we might have got our first look at Highrise, which is said will return as a new location in Warzone 2.

8. The AI has been taken up a notch

The press release for Modern Warfare 2 touched briefly on “New technology,” including new and refined AI, but the press release didn’t really provide any core details.

In the previews however, we got a more in-depth explanation of how this will play out courtesy of Mark Grigsby, Animation Director at Infinity Ward.  The TLDR is that AI will now be more realistic and deadly.

Supposedly the devs took inspiration from “an airsoft player” Charlie Intel explained. More specifically how they “tried to avoid getting hit, checked their corners, and preserved their life, and they liked the way it looked.”

The previews go on to state that Infinity Ward captured the moment of military professionals to get a better sense of how the AI should react to their surroundings, corners and so forth. The dev’s suggested that the AI will now feel like “natural human people who are nervous about their lives”, but equally, more than capable of “hunting you”.

9. Task Force 141 have some new Field Upgrades

During the previews Infinity Ward revealed four of the brand-new Field Upgrades coming to Modern Warfare 2.

This includes a Tactical Camera which will work similar to those used in Rainbow Six Siege. There’s also the Drill Charge which will effectively allow players to shoots a grenade through a wall that detonates on the other side. We also have a DDOS device, which works a bit like an EMP that can disrupt nearby equipment and vehicles. Finally, and the field upgrade we’re most excited to see used is the Inflatable Decoy which is exactly what it sounds like. You’ll be able to rapidly inflate the decoy to disorientate players as they walk by, or manually deploy it to distract players.

10. Campaign Gameplay is coming tomorrow…

If you tune into Summer Game Fest tomorrow you’ll be able to watch the first Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Gameplay.

Summer Game Fest starts at 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm UK.