Before the release of the H2M mod for Modern Warfare 2 in 2009, Activision shut down the project on Aug. 16, resulting in backlash from fans who accused the company of unfairly benefiting from the situation.
H2M, which boasts a wide selection of weapons, the original progression system, and all classic killstreaks, was constructed using Modern Warfare Remastered. It includes over 50 Multiplayer maps from various Call of Duty games. Prior to its release, early gameplay footage was shared with select content creators, generating excitement among players.
The timing of Modern Warfare Remastered’s half-off sale on Steam happened to coincide with the launch of H2M, and the excitement surrounding the mod played a role in the game’s success as it became the third top-selling game on Steam.
With the sudden increase in sales, concerns arose that Activision may shut down the project due to players taking advantage of the deal.
The H2M development team revealed that their concerns had become a reality when Activision sent a cease and desist letter just one day before the scheduled release, resulting in the immediate and permanent shutdown of all operations.
Today, our team members received a Cease & Desist order on behalf of Activision Publishing in relation to the H2M-Mod project. We are complying with this order and shutting down all operations immediately and permanently.
— H2 Multiplayer Mod (@H2Multiplayer) August 15, 2024
CoD content creator Kalei pointed out that Activision was the biggest beneficiary of this mod.
“Kalei noted that purchasing the game from Activision means that they receive all of the profits. Supporting the older CoD games on newer servers to relive nostalgia may be legitimate, but it is disappointing, though not unexpected.”
Content creator LegacyKilla also raised concerns about the timing of the decision, as seen in their tweet here.
“To fully grasp the deceitful nature of this action, Activision deliberately waited until the day before the release of this mod, and coincidentally, a day after the Steam sale for Modern Warfare Remastered had ended (a requirement for the mod).”
H2M’s closure is part of a larger pattern of fan-made mods being shut down either before they are released or shortly after their release.
In May 2023, Activision surprised the CoD community when they issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Sm2 developers, who had been working for more than a year on a free-to-play mod using the MW2019 engine.
In that same month, Activision also compelled X Labs to cease operations since it was providing servers for past games like Black Ops 3.
Leave a Reply