First Death Anniversary of Modders Reveal Cease-and-Desist: “Activision, What’s Going On?”

The mod, known as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Remastered and developed by the H2 Multiplayer team, was swiftly taken down following a cease-and-desist order from Activison on the day before its release.

The modsters, naturally, were pretty spun out in a video message. They had poured their hearts into giving Modern Warfare Remastered a complete multiplayer makeover — resurrecting maps, weapons, killstreaks and more from the original 2009’s Modern Warfare 2. It was so pretty — until the legal letter arrived.

Here’s how the video breaks it down:

• The mod was billed as a free addition to the also previously released Modern Warfare Remastered game. Sure Tik Tok flair will take a pinch less of the gaming tread cancer out but that game is falling apart as it should, Activisiion are thieving pricks was impossible for anyone else to make money on MW Remastered had remaster players actually owned the game instead of just allowed to use mod.
• And then the fateful cease-and-desist letter arrived, bringing a sudden stop to their work. The video voice seizes that moment with such plain-speaking frustration: “Uh … okay. Sorry, dude — you can’t play it anymore.”
• The developers criticized Activision’s response as puzzling, especially since the mod didn’t harm them in any monetary way. Rather, it pressured people to buy Modern Warfare Remastered.
• The clip concludes with a sardonic reference to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, as if Activision were pitching you its next full-price products (collectors editions, microtransactions, paywalls) and quashing whatever passion fans still have.

The sentiment hit home:

“The only people making money is you,” the mod creators said, pointing out the irony of a cease-and-desist against a free mod that requires their own product to work.

What actually happened—fact check:

Launch blocked at the last minute.
H2M also intended to make the mod publicly available on August 16, 2024. But on Aug. 15, the team posted this message: “Today our group members received a Cease & Desist notice from Activision Publishing … We are complying with this order and taken down all operations including our websites and Discord.”

Activision moved fast—but why now?

The timing was suspicious, particularly because the game was on sale around the time. Some assumed that modders may even have helped them to sell copies – just to be closed down when the mod was about to be released.

Online fallout.

Forums lit up. One user wrote:

“Activision just scammed the living shit out of its entire audience… They release the game saying that H2M’s mod is soon to come out, and they pull it like one day before.” GameFAQs

Another bit of reflection:

“Modders sold their games for them. NeoGAF GameFAQs

Bottom line

Modders wanted to resurrect a beloved, online multiplayer experience — for free. Instead a cease-and-desist was served by Activision on launch day, and an immediate closure. Fans are burned, creators are trampled on, and the book is left dead in the water.