Activision Shuts Down CoD Fan Servers

Recently, Activision has taken action against two creators of fan clients for older Call of Duty games by sending them cease-and-desist letters. As a result, players are now deprived of the numerous gameplay enhancements and quality-of-life improvements that these clients offered, which were considered by fans as the only safe way to enjoy these classic games without the risk of encountering damaging hacking from opponents.

The first target of Activision's recent crackdown was SM2, a prominent modding project for Modern Warfare 2 that had been in development for over two years. The modding group had been diligently updating the iconic 2009 release with new weapons, in-game perks, a redesigned user interface, progressive streak systems, and even transitioning to a more modern game engine. Unfortunately, their efforts came to an abrupt halt when they received a Cease & Desist letter from Activision Publishing. The SM2 team confirmed their compliance with the order, announcing the permanent shutdown of all project operations via their Twitter account. While their project website now simply redirects to the tweet, it can still be accessed through the Internet Archive. The project's Discord server, utilized for project discussions, was also shut down, resulting in the emergence of fake Discord servers falsely claiming to carry on the project. However, the project's YouTube account remains active and showcases various gameplay modes that the mod would have introduced.

About a week later, X Labs, known for creating custom clients and servers for classic Call of Duty games such as Modern Warfare 2, Ghosts, and Advanced Warfare, suffered a similar fate. Alongside offering new features and quality-of-life enhancements, the X Labs launchers purportedly provided a secure avenue for playing these older titles, shielding players from the rampant hacking and cheating that have plagued the official versions. Popular streamer Modern Warzone praised the now-shuttered X Labs clients, asserting that they were instrumental in sustaining active player bases for the older Call of Duty games, criticizing the lack of security on the official servers for these titles. Modern Warzone personally experienced the malicious activities of hackers on the official servers during a recent community event, including being kicked from games and having in-game progress wiped. Additionally, playing these older games on PC exposed players to the risk of having their IP addresses compromised and their devices infected with malicious files.

According to SteamCharts, the multiplayer version of Modern Warfare 2 on Steam has averaged a mere 227 players over the past 30 days, constituting only 2 percent of its peak player count in late 2012. Player counts for other classic Call of Duty games on Steam are even lower nowadays.

So far, Activision's recent wave of cease-and-desist demands has not impacted Plutonium, a competing set of Call of Duty custom clients that boasts thousands of active players across multiple games and servers. The developers behind Plutonium expressed relief, tweeting that they are currently unaffected, accompanied by a Spongebob GIF implying their concern that they may become the next target of Activision's actions.

This article is written by Gaurav Advit.