Activision has officially confirmed the Call of Duty series is returning to Steam with Modern Warfare 2 for the first time in years. In a statement made on Wednesday morning, Activision confirmed that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 would be coming to PCs at the end of this year. After a five-year hiatus, Call of Duty is returning to the digital storefront of Steam with the impending launch of Modern Warfare 2, the latest entry in the ultra-popular shooter franchise.
Perhaps the biggest surprise announced is that Call of Duty is finally coming back to Steam Store starting with Modern Warfare 2, but there is no confirmation for the earlier titles not coming to Steam just yet. Tweets were made regarding a reveal worldwide for Modern Warfare 2, all but confirmed Modern Warfare 2 is coming to the Steam gaming platform.
This tease by Steams gaming platform follows a quick takedown of Modern Warfare 2s art on the platform last weekend, kicking off speculation Modern Warfare 2 will make its way to the storefront. Call of Duty left Valves in favor of Blizzard Battle.net service way back in 2018, but now, with the release of Modern Warfare 2 this year, the series is set to return to Steam. The new Call of Duty PlayStation launch will be a relief for many, following Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard but it looks like the long-running first-person shooter series will remain multiplatform for the foreseeable future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd9QeRguvDA
Modern Warfare 2 is going to be COD’s first launch following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and Microsoft has been porting multiple games over to Steam over the past few years. Players are going to greet the return with an open mind since Steam has been the previous games’ home forever.
Activision Blizzard agreed to buy out Microsoft (though that deal could still be blocked by regulators) earlier this year. Steam charges a platform fee, while Battle.net is owned by Activision Blizzard, which could explain Activision Blizzard’s decision to cease publishing Call of Duty games on Steam. Valve is comfortable with third-party launchers being allowed by Valve, so we may see a future in which Battle.net remains a Call of Duty launcher, with the exception of Modern Warfare 2 being made available to buy on Steam.
After that, Activision split from Steam and has been working with Battle.net for all future Activision games. Activision confirmed today that COD MW 2 will release on Steam on Oct. 28, 2022. Typically, Call of Duty games are released in November, but well-known Call of Duty leaker Tom claims that he is heard rumblings that a new Call of Duty would instead be released one month early, in October, with the reveal taking place in the summer, with the larger Warzone update coming shortly thereafter.
They do not specifically confirm if Activision-Blizzards ongoing franchises, such as its long-running series of first-person shooters, will be exclusive to Microsoft later. It is pretty much a certainty we will see Call of Duty 2022 landing on the PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, however, whether or not it will also hit the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is less certain (though we would anticipate that it would).
