Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022 video game)

Did You Know?

• The game introduces new movement mechanics such as dive to prone, mantle, ledge hang, and the removal of slide canceling.
• Vehicle gameplay features include leaning out of windows, mantling onto roofs, and hijacking.

Synopsis

The campaign takes place in late 2022 and follows Task Force 141, a multinational special operations unit led by SAS Captain John Price, with members Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, Simon "Ghost" Riley, and John "Soap" MacTavish. They are supported by CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell, Russian PMC leader Nikolai, Urzikstan Liberation Force Commander Farah Karim, Mexican Special Forces Colonel Alejandro Vargas and Sergeant Major Rodolfo Parra, Shadow Company PMC Commander Phillip Graves, and US Army General Herschel Shepherd. The primary antagonist is Major Hassan Zyani, an Iranian Quds Force officer allied with the terrorist group Al-Qatala and supported by the Las Almas Cartel under sicaria Valeria Garza. The plot is partly based on real-life events such as the assassination of Qasem Soleimani. Locations include the fictional Mexican city of Las Almas, Amsterdam, the Mexico–United States border, the Gulf of Mexico, Chicago, Urzikstan, and the United Republic of Adal.

Development

Infinity Ward developed Modern Warfare II alongside a new version of the battle royale title Warzone, later revealed as Warzone 2.0, using a new version of the IW engine under a single cross-game launcher called Call of Duty HQ. The upgraded engine features a physically based material system, a hybrid tile-based streaming system, a PBR decal rendering system, world volumetric lighting, 4K HDR, and a new GPU geometry pipeline. The game includes Activision's Ricochet Anti-Cheat at launch. Sarah Schachner composed the score, having previously worked on the 2019 reboot and Infinite Warfare. In November 2022, Schachner left further work on the game, citing challenges with Infinity Ward's audio director; she stated the official soundtrack release was "not my artistic intent in regards to mixing and mastering." The soundtrack was released digitally on November 25, 2022, with 23 tracks and two songs from Edison Flood, Destani Wolf, and Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga. Additional music was contributed by Jason Graves, Steve Ouimette, Nainita Desai, Toby Chu, Photek, Finneas O'Connell, David Marinelli, and Tyler Bates.

Marketing

Activision confirmed a sequel to Modern Warfare in February 2022, alongside a new Warzone iteration. The title Modern Warfare II was revealed in April 2022, with a teaser featuring key art and an October 28 release date. A live-action trailer released on June 2, 2022; the same day, Steam responded to a Call of Duty tweet, suggesting a Steam release. The first gameplay trailer debuted on June 8, confirming releases on Steam, Battle.net, and eighth- and ninth-generation consoles. This marked the first Call of Duty title on Steam since 2017's WWII. In September 2022, the "Call of Duty Next" showcase revealed multiplayer gameplay, Spec Ops details, Warzone 2.0, and the DMZ extraction mode. The multiplayer beta ran from September 16 for PlayStation 4 and 5, and September 22 for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, ending September 26. Pre-orders granted early beta access; the Vault Edition included a Red Team 141 operator pack, FJX Cinder Weapon Vault, a Battle Pass season, double XP tokens, and the Ghost Legacy Pack for Modern Warfare (2019) and Warzone. No standard editions were offered for eighth-generation consoles, only a cross-gen edition and Vault Edition. Pre-ordering also granted campaign access a week early on October 20. The game became available on Xbox Game Pass on May 1, 2025.

Reception

Modern Warfare II received "generally favorable" reviews on Metacritic. Reid McCarter of Game Informer scored it 6.5/10, finding the depiction of warfare unsettling but the multiplayer and campaign highlights enjoyable. Jordan Forward of PCGamesN gave it 6/10, criticizing content and foundation while praising gunplay. Keith Stuart of The Guardian called it "a precisely tooled, intensely immersive combat simulator" while noting moral discomfort. The campaign drew divided responses: Matt Purslow of IGN scored it 6/10, calling it a lackluster follow-up saved by shooting; S. E. Doster of GameSpot praised its mission variety and player freedom. Multiplayer was generally better received: Seth G. Macy of IGN called it his favorite Call of Duty multiplayer in years, while Doster criticized the Gunsmith system. The game became the fastest-selling Call of Duty ever, earning $1 billion in revenue in its first 10 days, surpassing Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops II. It was the best-selling game in the US in 2022. In the UK, it was the best-selling game in its first week. In Japan, the PS4 version sold 24,371 physical copies in its release week (second best-selling), and the PS5 version sold 17,710 (sixth on the all-format chart).