Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Multiplayer Visibility, Footstep Audio, and Other Changes Revealed

Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is out tomorrow. The campaign has been available for digital pre-orders, but everyone gets access to Special Ops and multiplayer tomorrow. In a new article, the developer has outlined some changes to address multiplayer feedback from the beta.

First up is enemy visibility. Enemies now have diamond icons above their heads, which makes them easier to identify in-game. Lighting and contrast are also receiving continued tweaks to improve visibility further. The footstep audio range has also been shortened, so enemies can get closer before they’re detected. Teammate footstep audio is also quieter following the beta.

The UI has also received some updates and should feel more seamless. Check out the list of changes below. It’s worth noting that weapon balance changes will receive more details post-launch. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. Unfortunately, those picking up the physical version on PS5 will need to download the entire game, as the disc reportedly includes only 70 MB of data.

Enemy Visibility

• We have added diamond icons above the heads of enemies. This should make it easier for players to clearly identify opponents in the game.
• Additionally, we’ve continued to tweak lighting and contrast for improved enemy visibility.

Audio

• We’ve shortened the overall range of footstep audio which will allow enemy players to get closer to targets before they are able to detect footsteps. We have also continued to tweak teammate footstep audio, which will now be quieter following feedback from the Beta.
• The in-world activation sound effect volume range for the Dead Silence field upgrade has been drastically decreased.

Third Person

• Following feedback from Beta, aiming down sights will now stay in third person POV for low-zoom optics. Only high-zoom optics (beginning with the ACOG and higher) and special optics such as Hybrids and Thermals will revert to first person POV. We believe this will enhance the third person experience while keeping the gameplay balanced. The feedback on this mode has been very positive, and we will continue to explore its use as a modifier.

Weapons

• We have continued to tweak weapons across the game following both feedback from Beta players and game data. Players can expect more specifics on weapon tuning as we continue to support post-launch.

UI

• We have been working hard on numerous updates to our UI that make accessing and customizing your loadout more seamless. We’ve made improvements to navigation of menus and will continue to optimize our UX.

Movement

• Slide, ledge hang, and dive have been further refined. We’ve also addressed some movement exploits following Beta.

Matchmaking

• We have implemented some changes that aim to reduce lobby disbandment between matches. We look forward to testing this at a large scale and getting feedback.