Modern Warfare 2 developer defends lack of dedicated servers

Modern Warfare 2 PC's IWNET An "Improvement" Over Dedicated Servers, Says Infinity Ward

Posted on Oct 20, 2009 - 4:27pm EST

Infinity Ward's revelation that Modern Warfare 2 for the PC would drop dedicated servers for online multiplayer in favor of the developer's IWNET tech was met with the usual community grumbling. Now IW is trying to clear the air.

Amid frantic petition signing and friendly sniping about the change from competitors, Infinity Ward's Robert "FourZeroTwo" Bowling says that "IWNET is an improvement" over the dedicated server options PC gamers have become accustomed to. And he attempts to sell that to the Call of Duty community in a new post on his site.

Bowling writes that the IWNET matchmaking service is "the biggest investment Infinity Ward has ever made into the PC version of our games," explaining how various aspects of the new Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer feature set works.

From matchmaking to private games to clan matches, Bowling touches on the many concerns that PC players seem to have about IWNET versus dedicated servers. "It doesn't mean you'll just be thrown into a random game!" he says, saying that playlists, the party system and friendslists will make playing with clans or setting up scrimmage sessions "easier and hassle free."

Bowling ends it with perhaps the most attractive feature of IWNET, which uses Valve's Anti Cheat.

"The biggest benefit of using IWnet by far is the fact that you don't have to worry about joining a server full of aim-bots, wallhacks, or cheaters," Bowling writes. "Or relying on the server admin of the server to constantly be monitoring, banning, and policing it."