Activision Quietly Disabled CoD: MW2's Sharing Feature on Steam
Three days after the official release of Modern Warfare 2, Activision Blizzard decided to disable the game's sharing option on Steam without prior notice. What is behind the company's decision?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 owners have lost the ability to play via the Steam Family Sharing feature. The option was disabled in an update rolled out on October 31. Interestingly, the process took place without any prior warning from Activision Blizzard (via PC Gamer).
Recall that the aforementioned system was introduced on Steam in 2014 and involves sharing our video games with loved ones (family, friends, etc.). They, in turn, can play games from our library without hindrance, and all achievements are saved in the platform's cloud. This is a very economical approach, as one title can be shared by up to 5 people.
An intentional move?
Admittedly, some games have certain restrictions that exclude the Family Sharing option from the very beginning, however, in the case of MW2 the feature was disabled only three days after the game appeared on Valve's platform. This may suggest that Activision Blizzard's move was a deliberate ploy to force users to buy their own copies.
Gamers are bitter
As expected, this type of practice did not please some Reddit users, who poured out their frustration in the thread dedicated to this case. Here are some sample comments.
"The only thing they choose to 'fix'," comments WolfonRobinhood.
"I've already spent two hours in the game, so now I can't get a refund. If sharing had been disabled from the beginning, I would have bought it on a console, and the family would have had fun. In addition, they could have already prepared for Warzone. Leveling up weapons and their accessories is time consuming. People will have to buy the game or bundle to level up faster," writes chino869.
"I own the game on Steam and work, I can't play as much as my younger cousin and neither of us wants to play on the same account because we have our own levels, classes, friends, etc. It's just stupid that it works on PlayStation and Xbox and not on Steam," criticizes hollowinside19.
"This is just sad," declares tommypaura.
"I spent 24 hours on this game (going through the campaign and multiplayer mode), and now I can't even play it until I can afford it, which for a broke college student won't be quick or easy," complains benboy03_.
It is hard to be surprised by the bitterness of players - Modern Warfare 2 is not a cheap game, and for many of them the option to share the title was the only chance to take part in the experience.
Record-breaking release
Despite all these inconveniences, the latest installment of Call of Duty has become an absolute hit on Steam (at the hottest moment MW2 was played simultaneously by more than 263,000 users). In addition, Activision Blizzard's work is currently the fastest-selling game in the history of the series.
