In a recent podcast, an Infinity Ward developer brought out the news that the PC multiplayer aspect of Modern Warfare 2 would rely heavily on it's matchmaking system. What's wrong with that, you may ask? The scrapping of dedicated servers, an option that players could use to set their rules, customization, etc.. Whilst this brings about somewhat more competitive gaming for clans and various teams of similar rank, it can make other players feel like they have less control. The community response to this rather late announcement is a petition signing in an attempt to fix this dispute. Other fan reactions have led to the cancellation of pre-orders for the game.

In a webcast this morning, Robert Bowling revealed the existence of IWNet, a matchmaking service Infinity Ward will operate beginning with Modern Warfare 2. But it ends dedicated servers, and fundamentally changes the culture of the game's PC community.

Here's the score: by building up its own matchmaking service riding shotgun with Steam, "you can get in and play with players your same rank," Bowling said. However, "You're completely reliant on IWNet and there is no dedicated server or server list. You rely on IW Net for matchmaking and your games, but you still have your private matches."

But the news is not being taken well. The BASHandSlash guys referred to the vehemence in the chatlog running concurrent with the program, and terms such as "Black Saturday" and "a day of infamy" are being thrown around. "They've made Jesus cry," is another reaction, particularly from the competitive PC community whose future also is affected. "The server community is what's made us. It's what defined us," says Josh Pickler of planetmedalofhonor.com "IW.NET is getting the PC community to turn into consoles. You're trying to re-write our history."

Storm via kotaku.com »