2024 video game
This article is about the 2024 reboot sequel. For the 2009 game, see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ⚾️ 2
2024 video game
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is a 2024 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and ⚾️ published by Activision. It is a sequel to the 2024 reboot, and serves as the nineteenth installment in the overall ⚾️ Call of Duty series.[2] It was released on October 28, 2024, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and ⚾️ Xbox Series X/S.
Like its predecessor, the game takes place in a realistic and modern setting. The campaign follows multi-national special ⚾️ operations unit Task Force 141 and Mexican Special Forces unit Los Vaqueros as they attempt to track down terrorist leader, ⚾️ who is in possession of American-made ballistic missiles. Powered by a new version of the IW engine, Modern Warfare II ⚾️ continues to support cross-platform multiplayer and also features a free-to-play battle royale mode, Warzone 2.0, a follow-up to the original ⚾️ Warzone, all within a single cross-game launcher, known as Call of Duty HQ.
Modern Warfare II received generally favorable reviews from ⚾️ critics. It was a commercial success and broke several records for the series, including becoming the fastest Call of Duty ⚾️ game to generate US$1 billion in revenue. A sequel, titled Modern Warfare III, was released on November 10, 2024.
Gameplay [ ⚾️ edit ]
Modern Warfare II introduces several design improvements and changes to the series gameplay, such as advanced AI systems in ⚾️ the campaign and co-op modes, water physics, swimming mechanics, and an overhauled vehicle system. New gameplay features and movement tactics ⚾️ include dive to prone, mantle, and ledge hang along with the removal of slide canceling. New vehicle gameplay features include ⚾️ leaning out of vehicle windows, mantling onto a vehicle roof, and hijacking.[4][5][6][7][8] The levelling and Gunsmith system has been revamped, ⚾️ allowing players to fine-tune specific attachments to suit their playstyles. It also offers weapon platforms that branch progression to reduce ⚾️ repetitiveness, as well as featuring a firing range for practice.[9][10][11]
Modern Warfare II multiplayer features several new game modes: Knockout, in ⚾️ which two teams attempt to capture a package with limited lives; and Prisoner Rescue, in which an attacking team attempts ⚾️ to extract a hostage while a defending team prevents them by fortifying defenses around the hostage.[12] Third-person game modes were ⚾️ confirmed in September 2024.[13] The cooperative Special Ops mode also returns, featuring two-player missions, with an additional 3-player activity called ⚾️ Raids released post-launch.[14] Additional multiplayer modes were also released as part of post-launch seasons, including the 2v2 "Gunfight" mode from ⚾️ Modern Warfare (2024) and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.[15]
Like the previous game, Modern Warfare II features a free-to-play ⚾️ battle royale game mode called Warzone 2.0, which is introduced with the first seasonal content update for the game on ⚾️ November 16.[16] In addition to the traditional battle royale mode, Warzone 2.0 also introduces DMZ, a new extraction game mode ⚾️ in which teams of trios battle against each other as well as AI combatants, while attempting to complete missions and ⚾️ extract loot from the playable map.[17]
Synopsis [ edit ]
Characters and settings [ edit ]
Modern Warfare II is a continuation of ⚾️ the 2024 reboot entry, with the campaign taking place in late 2024. The game takes place in both real and ⚾️ fictional locations, such as the fictional Mexican city of Las Almas, Amsterdam, the Mexico–United States border, Gulf of Mexico, Chicago, ⚾️ Urzikstan, and the new United Republic of Adal (URA), the capital of which, Al Mazrah, serves as a major locale ⚾️ within the campaign and multiplayer modes, as well as the new map for the free-to-play Warzone 2.0. The game's plot ⚾️ is partly based on real-life events, such as the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.
The central protagonists of the game are Task ⚾️ Force 141, a multi-national special operations unit formed by SAS Captain John Price (Barry Sloane), comprising: Sergeant Kyle "Gaz" Garrick ⚾️ (Elliot Knight), Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley (Samuel Roukin), and Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish (Neil Ellice). Throughout the course of the ⚾️ story, Task Force 141 is supported by several allies: CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell (Rya Kihlstedt), Russian private military company ⚾️ leader "Nikolai" (Stefan Kapičić), Urzikstan Liberation Force Commander Farah Karim (Claudia Doumit), Mexican Special Forces Colonel Alejandro Vargas (Alain Mesa) ⚾️ and Sergeant Major Rodolfo Parra (Bayardo De Murguia), Shadow Company PMC Commander Phillip Graves (Warren Kole), and United States Army ⚾️ General Herschel Shepherd (Glenn Morshower). The primary antagonist of Modern Warfare II is Major Hassan Zyani (Ibrahim Renno), an Iranian ⚾️ Quds Force officer who is allied with the Urzik terrorist organization Al-Qatala, and is supported by the Mexican Las Almas ⚾️ Cartel. The cartel operates under the leadership of sicaria Valeria Garza (María Elisa Camargo), who uses the alias "El Sin ⚾️ Nombre" (lit. The Nameless One).
The Special Ops and Multiplayer post-launch story takes place after the campaign, and features a cast ⚾️ of multi-national operators working under two major factions, SpecGru and KorTac Group, both of which are private military companies. Both ⚾️ factions undertake new covert operations, overseen by Laswell, taking place within the vicinity of Al Mazrah; the operations later expand ⚾️ to the Asia-Pacific island Ashika and the city of Vondel, Netherlands. Notable characters who appear in the post-launch story include: ⚾️ Daniel "Ronin" Shinoda (Thomas Bromhead), an ex-Special Forces fighter; Alex Keller (Chad Michael Collins), a former CIA officer who joined ⚾️ Farah's army; Hadir Karim (Aidan Bristow), Farah's brother who defected and became an Al-Qatala commander; Nikto (Gideon Emery), a former ⚾️ FSB deep cover agent; Vladimir Makarov (Julian Kostov), the Ultranationalist commander of the Russian PMC Konni Group; and Andrei Nolan ⚾️ (Nikolai Nikolaeff) and Ivan Alexxeve (Lev Gorn), Konni operatives working for Makarov.
Plot [ edit ]
Campaign [ edit ]
In July 2024, ⚾️ Task Force 141, under the command of General Herschel Shepherd, conducts a surgical missile strike against Russian-backed Iranian forces, assassinating ⚾️ Iranian General Ghorbrani during an arms deal in Al Mazrah. In October, Ghorbrani's lieutenant, Quds Force Major Hassan Zyani, becomes ⚾️ involved in funding terrorist activity and seeks revenge on the United States. Hassan’s activities draw the attention of Shepherd and ⚾️ CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell, who order Marine Raiders, led by Task Force 141 operatives Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley and ⚾️ Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish, to apprehend Hassan in Al Mazrah. Ghost and Soap fail to capture Hassan, but discover that ⚾️ he was in possession of an American ballistic missile.
Laswell and Task Force 141 operatives Captain John Price and Sergeant Kyle ⚾️ "Gaz" Garrick pursue one of Hassan's couriers in Amsterdam, learning that Hassan has received protection from and has allied with ⚾️ the Las Almas Cartel, and is currently in Mexico. After a failed attempt to apprehend him at the Mexico–US border, ⚾️ Mexican Special Forces Colonel Alejandro Vargas and his second-in-command Sergeant Major Rodolfo Parra, alongside their unit Los Vaqueros, participate in ⚾️ a joint operation with Ghost, Soap, and Shadow Company, a PMC under the direct command of Shepherd and led by ⚾️ its CEO, Phillip Graves, to capture Hassan. Although successful, they are forced to release him to avoid political fallout with ⚾️ Iran, as they lack the definitive evidence needed to arrest him.
Data hacked from Hassan's phone leads Price, Laswell, and Gaz ⚾️ to Cape Vilan, where they discover that Las Almas possessed Russian-made GPS devices for missiles. When Laswell is captured by ⚾️ Urzik terrorist group Al-Qatala, Price and Gaz track down and save her in Urzikstan, with the aid of their old ⚾️ allies Nikolai and Farah Karim. Meanwhile, Alejandro and Soap manage to capture Las Almas leader, "El Sin Nombre", revealed to ⚾️ be Alejandro's former special forces comrade Valeria Garza. Valeria reveals that one of the missiles is on a oil rig ⚾️ in the Gulf of Mexico, prompting a raid led by Task Force 141, Shadow Company and Alejandro to prevent its ⚾️ launch. Despite the successful mission, Graves and Shadow Company betray Alejandro and Task Force 141 under Shepherd's orders. Graves captures ⚾️ Alejandro and seizes Los Vaqueros’ base of operations, while Ghost and Soap flee into Las Almas as Shadow Company slaughters ⚾️ its residents in search of Hassan. With help from Rodolfo, Laswell, Price, and Gaz, Ghost and Soap free Alejandro and ⚾️ Los Vaqueros.
Laswell reveals that Shepherd and Graves were responsible for an illegal missile transportation mission in August meant to aid ⚾️ American allies in the Middle East. The transport was ambushed by a Russian PMC known as the Konni Group, with ⚾️ the three ballistic missiles being stolen, forcing Shepherd to cover up the mission's failure. Price confronts Shepherd over the revelations, ⚾️ promising to pursue him when the current threat is eliminated. Task Force 141 and Los Vaqueros succeed in retaking the ⚾️ latter's base and seemingly killing Graves, while also learning from Valeria that Hassan is in Chicago. The team narrowly thwarts ⚾️ Hassan's plan, detonating his missile en route to the Pentagon, and kills him. In the aftermath, Shepherd has gone into ⚾️ hiding, while Laswell informs 141 of the new leader of the Russian Ultranationalists responsible for Shepherd's botched operation, whom Price ⚾️ identifies as Vladimir Makarov.
In a mid-credits scene, a Russian terrorist cell prepares to hijack a plane. They receive a text ⚾️ from Makarov, who tells them not to speak Russian during the hijacking.
Special Ops [ edit ]
Some time after Hassan's death, ⚾️ Laswell starts to oversee new covert operations in Al Mazrah, in an effort to further undermine Al-Qatala activities.
In December 2024, ⚾️ Laswell tasks Price, Gaz, and Farah with investigating the disappearance of former CIA officer Alex Keller, who was sent by ⚾️ Farah alongside several ULF fighters to infiltrate a recently-discovered Soviet-era bunker in the Sattiq mountains in Urzikstan. They learn that ⚾️ the bunker houses a Soviet-made thermonuclear missile, while Farah's fighters were killed by Al-Qatala forces. The team heads further into ⚾️ the bunker and finds Alex alive, though the missile warheads were stolen. Alex reveals that Farah's brother, Hadir, has been ⚾️ acting as AQ's commander, and he left Alex alive to deliver a message: join him in his mission, or leave ⚾️ him be.
As Gaz leaves the facility to relay the information to Laswell, Price and Farah, joined by Alex, pursue Hadir ⚾️ by going further down the bunker, but they are forced to stand down as Hadir and his men surround them. ⚾️ Hadir orders his men to lock up the trio in jail cells, but they manage to escape captivity and resume ⚾️ their pursuit. After securing the core of the Soviet warhead, Price, Farah, and Alex catch up to Hadir and find ⚾️ him trying to escape from the bunker via an elevator; the trio is forced to sabotage the elevator's mechanism in ⚾️ order to stop him. After bringing down the elevator, Price, Farah, and Alex confront a mortally wounded Hadir. Before dying, ⚾️ Hadir tries to persuade Farah to make use of the warhead, warning her that Urzikstan is in danger and that ⚾️ "the real Russians" are coming for them. Afterwards, Price and Gaz exfiltrate from the bunker via helicopter, while Farah, Alex, ⚾️ and the ULF move to dispose of the warhead.
In late 2024, several private military companies begin to move into Al ⚾️ Mazrah, looking to wrestle control of the city from AQ forces as well as each other. At some point, Shadow ⚾️ Company was discovered to be running new operations in Al Mazrah, as well as the Asia-Pacific island Ashika and the ⚾️ elusive underground facility Building 21.
In April 2024, Valeria manages to escape captivity in Las Almas and rallies the Las Almas ⚾️ Cartel to conduct activities in Al Mazrah. Alejandro is recruited by Laswell to thwart the cartel's plans and apprehend Valeria. ⚾️ Later that year, a terrorist attack occurs in the city of Vondel, Netherlands. As its citizens are evacuated, a mysterious ⚾️ special forces group, called the Peacekeepers, moves in and seizes control of the city. Laswell establishes partnership with the Black ⚾️ Mous PMC to investigate the Peacekeepers while working to free Vondel from their grasps. They soon learn that the Peacekeepers ⚾️ are actually the Russian PMC Konni Group in disguise, and the attack on Vondel was orchestrated by them.
In August, Graves, ⚾️ who is revealed to have faked his death, meets with Farah and Alex, and proposes an alliance between Shadow Company ⚾️ and the ULF, as they prepare for an invasion on Al Mazrah from the Konni Group. Under Shepherd's command, Graves ⚾️ leads an assault on the Konni-occupied Zaya Observatory in Al Mazrah as part of Operation: Rogue Arsenal. After destroying the ⚾️ observatory with missile launchers, Shadow Company locates an underground weapons facility containing chemical weaponry and begin extracting gas canisters, but ⚾️ are forced to exfil when the tunnels begin collapsing. However, Konni operatives masquerading as Shadow soldiers manage to infiltrate their ⚾️ ranks and hijack the planes carrying the gas shipment, rendering the operation a failure.
Development [ edit ]
Call of Duty: Modern ⚾️ Warfare II was developed by Infinity Ward alongside a new version of the battle royale title Call of Duty: Warzone, ⚾️ later revealed to be titled Warzone 2.0, with both games using a new version of the IW engine, under a ⚾️ single cross-game launcher known as Call of Duty HQ.[18] The new upgraded engine features a physically based material system, a ⚾️ new hybrid tile-based streaming system, a new PBR decal rendering system, world volumetric lighting, 4K HDR, as well as a ⚾️ new GPU geometry pipeline.[19] The game features Activision's proprietary Ricochet Anti-Cheat at launch.[5]
It was reported that Modern Warfare II was ⚾️ initially intended to be the first mainline Call of Duty title to deviate from the series' annual release cycle, with ⚾️ Activision delaying the release of the next mainline Call of Duty project—led by developer Treyarch—to 2024, following Call of Duty: ⚾️ Vanguard's failure to meet sales expectations.[20] To help fill the gap between releases, Activision planned to ship an expansion pack ⚾️ for Modern Warfare II in late 2024, assigning developer Sledgehammer Games to lead the production of the project. The expansion ⚾️ was intended to feature a new single-player campaign that would continue the story of Modern Warfare II, along with new ⚾️ content for the game's multiplayer component. At some point during the development of the project, however, Activision chose to shift ⚾️ its direction, turning the expansion into a fully-fledged Call of Duty title. According to Bloomberg News, the new title is ⚾️ still intended to be released in Fall 2024, with plans to carry over content from Modern Warfare II's multiplayer component ⚾️ into the 2024 title.[21] In July 2024, Activision confirmed that Modern Warfare II operators, weapons and cosmetic items would carry ⚾️ over into the 2024 title, following a leak that suggested said title would be named Modern Warfare III.[22]
Music [ edit ⚾️ ]
Sarah Schachner, the composer for the original score featured in Infinity Ward's previous two Call of Duty titles, Call of ⚾️ Duty: Infinite Warfare and Modern Warfare, returned to compose the score for Modern Warfare II.
In November 2024, Schachner stepped away ⚾️ from the project, citing challenges in the working dynamic with Infinity Ward's audio director as the reason for her departure. ⚾️ In a statement released by her on Twitter, she noted that the contents of the official soundtrack release for Modern ⚾️ Warfare II are "not my artistic intent in regards to mixing and mastering”.[23]
The soundtrack for Modern Warfare II was released ⚾️ digitally on November 25, 2024; featuring 23 tracks from the game's original score and two songs from artists Edison Flood, ⚾️ Destani Wolf, and Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga.[24]
Additional soundtracks were created for the post-launch seasons, featuring music from Jason Graves ⚾️ (Warzone),[25] Steve Ouimette (season 2),[26] Nainita Desai (season 3),[27] Toby Chu (season 4),[28] Photek (season 5),[29] Finneas O'Connell and David ⚾️ Marinelli (Gunfight mode's theme),[30] and Tyler Bates (season 6).[31]
Marketing [ edit ]
Reveal [ edit ]
In February 2024, Activision confirmed that ⚾️ a sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would be released later that year, alongside a new iteration of Call ⚾️ of Duty: Warzone.[18] The game's title, Modern Warfare II, was revealed in April 2024.[2] A month later, Activision released another ⚾️ teaser, which featured the key arts of the main characters of the game, as well as a release date of ⚾️ October 28, 2024. On June 2, 2024, a live-action trailer was released, on the same day, Steam responded to a ⚾️ tweet from the official Call of Duty Twitter account, strongly suggesting the game would be released on Microsoft Windows via ⚾️ the Steam platform, in addition to Battle.[32] The first trailer for the game was released on June 8, showcasing gameplay ⚾️ from the campaign mode, as well as confirming the game's release on Steam, Battle, and the eighth and ninth generation ⚾️ consoles.[33] Modern Warfare II marks the first time since 2024's Call of Duty: WWII that a Call of Duty title ⚾️ released on the Steam platform.[34] In September 2024, Activision held the "Call of Duty Next" showcase where they revealed a ⚾️ multiplayer gameplay trailer, details on the Spec Ops mode, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, and the DMZ extraction game mode.[5][36]
Release ⚾️ [ edit ]
The multiplayer beta for Modern Warfare II started for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 players on September 16, ⚾️ and for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S players on September 22. The beta officially ended on September 26 ⚾️ at 3pm EDT across all platforms before the launch on October 28, 2024.[37] Pre-orders of all editions grant "early" access ⚾️ to the open multiplayer beta. The Vault Edition grants access to a "Red Team 141" operator pack, a "FJX Cinder ⚾️ Weapon Vault" pack, plus access to the Battle Pass of a Season for Modern Warfare II (dependent on the time ⚾️ of purchase), and double XP tokens. In addition, the Vault Edition also included the "Ghost Legacy Pack", which granted 12 ⚾️ Ghost operator skins and 10 weapon blueprints for the M4A1 assault rifle for use in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ⚾️ and Call of Duty: Warzone. Unlike the previous cross-gen titles, Modern Warfare II offers no standard editions for the eighth ⚾️ generation consoles, but only a cross-gen edition for all platforms, in addition to the Vault Edition. Pre-ordering also granted early ⚾️ access to the campaign a week earlier on October 20.[38][1]
Post-launch content [ edit ]
Similar to the previous titles, Modern Warfare ⚾️ II employs both the battle pass system and an in-game store where players can purchase cosmetic bundles using the "COD ⚾️ Points" microtransaction currency, while free content, such as new maps and weapons, are provided on a regular basis with "Season" ⚾️ updates.
In addition, Activision also partners with celebrities and other media franchises to feature licensed characters in multiplayer modes. Notable additions ⚾️ to the playable roster includes: football players Paul Pogba, Neymar, and Lionel Messi;[39] Shredder from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ⚾️ franchise;[40] basketball player Kevin Durant;[41] online streamers Nickmercs and TimTheTatman;[42] Starlight, Homelander, and Black Noir from Amazon Prime Video's The ⚾️ Boys TV series;[43] rappers Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, and 21 Savage;[44] Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider video game series;[45] ⚾️ Spawn from the comic book series of the same name; Skeletor from the Masters of the Universe franchise; Ash Williams ⚾️ from the Evil Dead franchise; Alucard from the Hellsing manga and anime series; Lilith and Inarius from Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo ⚾️ IV;[46] and the Sardaukar from the film Dune and its sequel Dune: Part Two.[47] Nickmercs' bundle was removed from the ⚾️ game a week after its release due to a supposed anti-LGBT comment he made on Twitter;[48] TimTheTatman's bundle was also ⚾️ removed some time later at his request to support Nickmercs' stance, though purchases of both bundles prior to their removals ⚾️ are honored.[49]
Reception [ edit ]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[50][51][52]
GameSpot called ⚾️ the campaign "a greatest hits list for the series", praising the amount of player freedom in missions and the variety ⚾️ of locales,[54] but criticizing the multiplayer's gun customization as overly complex and that the mode as a whole "[felt] lacking".[55]
Sales ⚾️ [ edit ]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II became the fastest-selling Call of Duty game of all time.[68] The game ⚾️ earned US$800 million in revenue in its first three days of release,[69] and US$1 billion within 10 days, surpassing the ⚾️ series previous record-holders, 2011's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and 2012's Black Ops II.[70] It was the best-selling game ⚾️ of the US in 2024.[71]
In the United Kingdom, Modern Warfare II became the best-selling game in its first week of ⚾️ release.[72] In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II sold 24,371 physical copies within its ⚾️ release week, making it the second bestselling retail game of the week in the country. The PlayStation 5 version sold ⚾️ 17,710 physical copies in Japan throughout the same week, placing it at number six on the all-format video games sales ⚾️ chart.[73]
Accolades [ edit ]
Sequel [ edit ]
In August 2024, following a series of leaks, Activision confirmed that a sequel to ⚾️ Modern Warfare II, which is titled Modern Warfare III, would be released on November 10, 2024.[84]
Notes [ edit ]
