Activision has seemingly shut down long-running mod projects used to improve online play in the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. X Labs, which describes itself as a modding "laboratory", says it has been issued a cease and desist, forcing it to shut down its mods, including fan-run Modern Warfare 2 servers.
X Labs services were used to make the Steam version of Modern Warfare 2 safe to play, removing an exploit found in this release. X Labs also maintained its own servers and even implemented its own anti-cheat system to keep things fair in its lobbies. Since the group ran many services, it's not clear which one caught the attention of Activision. However, in one of the how-to guides for getting its mods up and running, it links to a torrent of the original game, likely the cause of its legal troubles.
"Today, we have received a Cease & Desist letter on behalf of Activision Publishing in relation to the X Labs project," reads a short statement from the X Labs team. "We are complying with this order and shutting down all operations permanently."
While all of X Labs' content requires an installation of Modern Warfare 2 to function, it acknowledges that not everyone would be playing with a legitimate copy. In fact, in the installation instructions, there is a link to a site that lets you download a torrent of the game, getting around the requirement to have the game on Steam.
Regardless, this is still an unpopular move from Activision, given that the original Modern Warfare 2 is now 14 years old and has thus been ignored by the company in favour of more recent titles. It would hardly be a huge money maker for Activision either, given all of the Call of Duty games that have launched since. In response, fans are review-bombing Modern Warfare 2 on Steam, complaining that there won't be a way to play it without exposing yourself to the security exploit.
"They removed the best way to play it, and you can get your IP [address] leaked if you play online," reads one negative review. "Reporting due to an old unfixed security/privacy vulnerability," says another. "RIP X Labs."
Activision hasn't commented on the matter, and it's not known if it will. If X Labs is indeed ceasing all of its work in response to this legal pressure, then the company will consider the matter resolved. It remains to be seen if other classic Call of Duty fan projects come under fire in this way, or if this was just a response to X Labs hosting a link to pirate the game.
TheGamer has reached out to Activision Blizzard for comment.