PSA: Modern Warfare 2 won't unlock on Steam until Friday

by Griffin McElroy on Nov 10th 2009 2:00PM

While those who suffered the slings, arrows and unbearable social graces of the Modern Warfare 2 midnight launch lines have been playing the game for half a day now, those who decided to purchase and download the game through Steam won't be able to unlock their copy of the game until Friday morning at the stroke of midnight. If you've bought a retail copy of the game, Steam will go ahead and unlock it now -- the delay only seems to apply to the digitally distributed version.

It looks like the game was initially delayed to unlock at midnight on Thursday, but at some point this morning, an additional 24 hours was tacked on to the postponement. Valve and Infinity Ward still haven't commented on why Steam users are being forced to wait -- we'll see if we can get an answer from them.

Source

Tags: activision, call-of-duty, call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2, delay, infinity-ward, modern-warfare-2, steam

Reader Comments (95)

Im pretty sure most PC gamers have bought it for a console already,

So how is the game....

So, so good.

im still waiting for my xbox back from microsoft! Welcome to the club pc gamers

I love it. It's a quality game, and it's as addicting if not more than the first. All the hatred around it is basically for the PC version, so if you're a console gamer, there's not much to worry about. though we gotta feel for our PC brethren :'[

I KNOW WHY! I KNOW WHY! READ IT! HERE HERE HERE!!!

its because, and listen carefully... Activision is getting paid off by gamestop by advertising the game, so making them wait will have more people buying it at Gamestop.

I wish the bloggers could voice their own opinion sometimes, cause im sure they thought this too

I mean "paid off" in the form of free advertisements.

I may hate Nascar.

But I still love Valve.

wait what does Valve have to do with this

gross

Wait what does Nascar have to do with this.

Who are you to question the asking myself of a question?

Wait, what have ask you zing baabadeedoop?

I enjoy these comments...

Also, so not worth it for pc... might as well wait for Battlefield Bad Comapny 2 for pc *GASP*

perhaps BFBC2? B^2FC2? Wait, why am I talking about BB-FC2 on this message?

Sucks for all those Steam-heads.

You say that like its negative...

Oh good, I thought even those who bought the retail version would have to wait until Friday because those also need to be activated via Steam. Newegg has the PC version for $52-53 with free shipping.

If you had ordered it from amazon you got a 20$ gift certificate when it shipped, good towards any other game. So in effect it cost me 39.99. Or I got Assassin's Creed 2 for 29.99. What ever way you want to look at it.

Really? I mean, the other things were business decisions but this is just trying to be mean to PC gamers!

This just in: Not only can PC gamers not play the game until Friday, upon launching the game after activation a picture of a naked Bobby Kotick appears with the caption: "Suck it PC gamers" and then your machine is bricked by a trojan code.

Okay not really, but can PC gamers really get the shaft shoved any further up their @$$ after this? I just don't get it.

I'm sure it's just Gamestop and friends paying Activision to delay the Steam release.

And it's not really "mean". This is one of those games where you buy the retail version, and you can register your CD key with Steam and d/l it on Steam from then on (a la Left4Dead, Dawn of War 2, etc.).

Why is it that such problems with release and controversies seem a million times more magnified because the game is highly anticipated? I think people forget it's a video game, not a life-altering event.

For the record, this comes from a big CoD fan, I just want to put things in perspective.

An extra 24 hours was just tacked on for seemingly no reason. If I had pre-purchased it off Steam, i would be pissed as well.

I think that's understandable.

A big fan who didn't buy it through steam I take it? lol

I would be pretty p*ssed that everyone else got to play it first, even people who bought the retail version.

The more I see and hear about digital distribution, the more off-putting it gets for me.

I understand that and had I ordered through Steam I'd be on the phone with them right now, but my post has more to do with the build up of all these little issues over the last few weeks. The lack of trophies, breaking release date, civilian-killing scene, etc. It just feels like a lot of attention is being placed on it for relatively minor reasons.

Again, my sympathy to Steam players. My 360 RRoD-ed last night so it'll be a few weeks before I get to play. I feel your pain.

That sucks... It seems pirating it will get it accessable faster than retail, and without any Steam to affect it.

Quite nice :)

Infinity Ward must really hate pc users.

They must be punishing the PC players for all that bitching and moaning they were doing over severs and multiplayer match size.

50 minutes until my torrent is finished~

fuck you! No wonder they abandoned the PC version!

Your needle is facing the wrong direction.

stick it to the man

I'm sure that Activision wanted IW to stop developing for the PC altogether but IW said no. So, Activision mandated they piss off the PC gaming community as much as possible to encourage more piracy for the game and thus they have the excuse to cut off the PC forever.

Congrats idiot. You have shown that you are interested in the game, but decided not to buy it. Now Activision and other publishers will use this to justify the bs they put on PC games these days (DRM) or they might not even bring the game out on PC period.

PC gamers can thank idiots like IGLAW for ruining their past time.

@Dreaded Fear

Good! I do have interest in the game, but no longer want to buy it. If they didn't screw over the PC version, I would have bought two copies. One for the 360, and one for the PC, just like I did with the MW1...but not now! I hope everyone at IW feels dirty after all of this

Dark Wayne - maybe he's pirating to a make a point that good games get bought and shitty, shafted ones get pirated because no one wants to pay money for them?

Yeah idiots, great point. You want to play a game that people have worked hard on, but don't want to pay for it because your douche bags. Let me guess, you didn't buy Braid because you though Johnathon Blow was acting like a douche? Or maybe you though it was $10 too much. Your pathetic, and don't realize how lucky you are that the gaming industry is profitable and great games come out... no thanks to you.

@IGLAW it's okay to use piracy as a form of protest not just because you're a cheap ass.

@Dreaded Fear

Uh, no. I want to play the game, because I enjoyed its predecessor. It has nothing to do with how hard they worked on it. People work hard on shit games too. I'm not buying it, because they removed a bunch of features I actually used in MW1, and are charging $10 more for it. If not wanting to pay more money for less makes me a douche, so be it

Yes, I forget how innocent the Xbox 360 users are. No, they don't hack their consoles and download torrents...huge lumps of xbox 360 users NEVER get banned for having illegally obtained copies of software. Only the "evil" PC users do that.

At least he has the balls to say it (If that's any consolation).

?!?!?!?

well im not getting me copy till thursday so i can kinda feel the steam communities pain

Why, because PC gamers need to pay IW for all the new features they added into the game, of course!

Or, as is probably more likely, because they figured "Hey, if console players are willing to pay $60 for it, why not charge the same for the PC version?"

Wow, PC gamers have been pretty screwed on CoD:MW2.

I'd be fucking livid if I pre-ordered from Steam despite all the other stuff (smaller multi, no dedicated servers, higher price point).

They should knock at least $5 off for everyone who stood by Steam through this.

I think they should know off $30 given that you're really only paying for the single-player if you buy it for PC.

Ghostbusters for the PC has no multiplayer PERIOD. But as a consolation, the devs charged $30 for it vs. $50 normally.

The game is 60 dollars because it's MW2.
duh.

The extra $10 is because you get f*cked

And this is why product activation sucks - companies can pull this stuff, and you're powerless to do anything about it.

You can not buy it. That's how you oppose actions by companies that make tangible items too.

Sorry, powerless once you give your money to them. Once you purchase a software product with product activation, you're at the company's mercy as to whether or not they'll let you use it.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments

PSA: Modern Warfare 2 won't unlock on Steam until Friday

Reader Comments (95)

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:04PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:27PM Jerk Face said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 4:49PM Brodo said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 11:08PM Ryuk said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 11:47PM leemahi said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 11:56PM leemahi said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:04PM VIDEOGAMES said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:06PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:16PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:42PM VIDEOGAMES said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 4:13PM VIDEOGAMES said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 5:18PM ShadowOp said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:06PM MrHashbrown said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 5:52PM VIDEOGAMES said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:06PM RKN said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:17PM Shagittarius said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:06PM TheDarkWayne said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 3:30PM David Black said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 3:30PM Centaur said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:07PM Temidien said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:08PM Funkmaster General said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:11PM den69 said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:13PM Temidien said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 5:07PM Gu3st said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:07PM Rhamsey said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 3:05PM Hyperion45 said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:08PM ROBOCOLOSSUS said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:09PM TheDarkWayne said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:10PM Temidien said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:10PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:15PM RKN said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:22PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:36PM EGOvoruhk said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:56PM Neebs said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 3:08PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 3:11PM Gaming Expert said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 3:15PM EGOvoruhk said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 5:39PM Azazel28 said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:14PM JuanLovesHorror said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:15PM JuanLovesHorror said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:17PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:29PM wiregr said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:33PM VicViper said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:36PM Aerothorn said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 3:18PM RKN said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:34PM Nicknin10do said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:37PM EGOvoruhk said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:38PM ducttapeBigSexy said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 2:41PM spin cycle said

Posted: Nov 10th 2009 3:00PM ducttapeBigSexy said

Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

38 Studios, Schilling ask Rhode Island for more money; state officials freeze

Featured Stories

Rhode Island owns Amalur, all other 38 Studios intellectual property if studio defaults

Editorial: I can never play Diablo 3

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 review: Running in place

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW