Activision released a new update for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, along with accompanying patch notes. The latest update is live and includes a few noteworthy features such as the return of Weapon Tuning and fixes for a handful of issues that have plagued the game since launch. While it’s nice to see some of these glaring problems addressed, the patch notes themselves are hugely problematic, with barebones information that feels reminiscent of Warzone’s early days. Here’s what you need to know about the latest Modern Warfare 2 update, and why its patch notes are troublesome for the game’s future.
Modern Warfare 2 noteworthy patch notes
The complete list of patch notes addresses many issues within Modern Warfare 2, and there are several main takeaways you should be aware of.
Most notably, Weapon Tuning has been added back to the game. It had been removed shortly after the game’s launch due to crashing issues. This feature allows users to fine-tune their attachments to prioritize specific stats.
In addition, freezing and performance issues have apparently been fixed, while the game’s camo system has received some adjustments to make the experience better.
Infinity Ward also states that it will make weapon adjustments as needed, and will also continue to improve the game’s UI — though it didn’t specify what changes will be added.
While it’s nice to see many of the game’s problems addressed, the patch notes themselves are far too vague to be useful, which has the community worried about Modern Warfare 2’s future.
Modern Warfare 2 patch notes need some work
The main issue with the recent Modern Warfare 2 patch notes is that they’re vague, leaving players in the dark about what exactly is being fixed. For instance, one line from the patch notes reads “A recent NVIDIA hotfix addressed some critical issues,” but doesn’t specify what was actually fixed.
Likewise, Infinity Ward has implemented “overall performance improvements” and has “added fixes for stuttering and lag issues,” but once again, doesn’t offer any details about what was addressed.
These patch notes are reminiscent of the ones Activision used to publish around the launch of Modern Warfare 2019 and Warzone — which was widely regarded as one of the worst issues in recent Call of Duty games.
The biggest problem is that the developers haven’t actually implemented many improvements just yet. For example, Modern Warfare 2 still freezes frequently and suffers from performance drops, and crashes. Having vague patch notes allows Activision to appear like it’s making substantial fixes, without actually committing to specific issues.
So, if a user still comes across stuttering and freezing, they can’t get too mad since Activision stated it only addressed “known freezing” problems. This doesn’t account for the other freezing troubles doesn’t know about. It’s a way for the development team to have its cake and eat it, too, as fans demand immediate changes.
Some of the patch notes are downright wrong, as well. For instance, Infinity Ward mentions it’s aware that a “riot shield provides invincibility against chopper gunner and VTOL,” which isn’t right. Instead, the chopper gunners and VTOLs cause the glitch to occur, leaving riot shield users invincible to pretty much anything for the remainder of the match. It’s unclear if the notes are just wrong, or if the development team is mistaken about the glitch, but either way, it’s worrisome that this info isn’t correct.
Activision has set a precedent for releasing highly detailed patch notes for Warzone and Vanguard, making it hard to understand how the publisher has dropped the ball already.
There are also major concerns that have yet to even be acknowledged, such as users getting banned for no reason, and silencers causing players to appear on the minimap, so it’s easy to see why players are unhappy.
At this point, we’re hopeful the game — and its patch notes — will improve over time, just as Warzone did. It’s just tough to understand how Modern Warfare 2 is repeating the same mistakes as Warzone, as Activision neglects to communicate with its players effectively.
