Call of Duty: Modern Warfare hit with server outage as gamers rush to play

Gamers who rushed to be the first to play the latest addition to one of the most popular franchises of all time have been left disappointed.

One of the most popular video games of all time has just released its latest addition to the franchise, but fans have been left frustrated and disappointed as server outages stop them from playing.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the 16th instalment of the popular first person shooter, and also serves as a “soft reboot” of its beloved Modern Warfare sub-series.

The latest addition in the Call of Duty franchise is out, but some gamers have been blocked from playing.

But fans who paid out $100 to play the new game on launch day haven’t been able to get the full experience after a wide-ranging server outage took down the multiplayer mode.

Call of Duty has always been the most popular for its multiplayer, but while the game does feature a single player campaign, some frustrated gamers have also reported not being able to play it either.

That's the bogus part. Go to play it, and it tells you that you don't own it lol

— FogWhispererKelly (@KellyGillies1) October 25, 2019

Many games now require a constant internet connection to a server to play games as a means to combat piracy.

Call of Duty’s publisher Activision has taken to Twitter to assure fans it’s working hard to fix the problem.

We're actively investigating an issue where some players are unable to connect to Modern Warfare. Stay tuned for updates.

— Activision Support (@ATVIAssist) October 25, 2019

Those who got in early have been able to have some fun in multiplayer, but new players trying to connect have been met with disappointment.

“We are continuing to investigate the issue related to the huge volume of new players connecting to Modern Warfare,” Activision said about an hour after announcing it was aware of the issue. “Players that are in game should be able to continue playing without interruption. We will continue to provide updates as quickly as we can.”

The latest addition in the Call of Duty franchise is out, but some gamers have been blocked from playing.

While some fans expected the massive rush of players on launch day to overwhelm the servers, others were far less willing to accept the outages.

We already did our waiting this bs

— Camo (@Camowin) October 25, 2019

Me thinking #ModernWarfare servers would be different from the past 16 call of duty’s pic.twitter.com/FibHHJ6DG5

— Chris Eiler (@eyelur) October 25, 2019

I like how the @CallofDuty #ModernWafare servers are already down pic.twitter.com/ZEWFfzeOvE

— Name (@ChairDoorMan) October 25, 2019

Its not a #ModernWafare #CallOfDuty launch without the servers going down on launch night

— #LoservilleUSA (@generalmongo109) October 25, 2019

Of course the call of duty servers would be down @Activision smh. Never buying call of duty again 😂

— E•N•V•Y 🇭🇹📹🧬 (@EnvyEddy) October 25, 2019

About two hours after the Activision announcement, the game’s developer Infinity Ward thanked gamers for their patience and said the servers were coming back online.

Massive thank you for your patience and apologies for the delay. Crazy traffic tonight, but servers are coming back online now, and everyone should be able to begin launching Modern Warfare.

— Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) October 25, 2019

The new Call of Duty is the first in the franchise to support cross-platform multiplayer, which allows gamers to play against each other regardless of what console or computer they’re on.

While PC gamers traditionally use a mouse and keyboard, which can be more accurate and responsive for fast-paced first person shooters, they can also use a controller like the consoles gamers, as can console gamers use a mouse and keyboard.

Cross-platform matchmaking will be done via input mode to ensure players on different platforms don’t get an unfair advantage.

The new addition to the franchise also ditches the controversial “loot boxes” of past games, a form of microtransaction that have raised concerns that they normalise gambling, as gamers don’t know what are in the boxes before paying real-world money for them.

The loot boxes have been replaced with a Battle Pass system that will allow gamers to see what they’re getting before they buy.

Activision said all Battle Pass items can also be unlocked just by playing the game rather than paying extra money, and the Pass won’t become available until a while after the game launches to give players a chance to unlock the items by playing instead.

But doing so will require the game servers to stabilise and remain online, in the face of mass demand to connect.

Have you been hit by the Call of Duty server outage? Let us know in the comments below.