H2M Creator Says CoD: MW2 Mod Was Shut Down Over Black Ops 6 Sales Fears

Earlier this month, Activision put the kibosh on an ambitious mod known as H2M: a fan-created attempt to bring classic Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer to Modern Warfare Remastered. Now, a member of the mod team that goes by the handle “Watchful Wolf” says that the gaming giant put out the cease-and-desist order due to concerns that H2M would hurt Black Ops 6 sales.

Fans immediately took to forums like the Call of Duty subreddit to express their displeasure with the move, with many of them noting that the C&D came the day before H2M was scheduled to release. In a video posted to YouTube, Watchful Wolf stated that the order from Activision came just hours before the mod’s release, and that the team immediately “dropped everything,” taking their website and all servers down.

Watchful Wolf also stated in the video that the C&D explicitly stated why Activision moved to shut the project down. They said it was “because of the popularity H2M was gaining and how close it is to Black Ops 6 releasing. They did not want H2M interfering with possible sales of Black Ops 6.”

As usual in this kind of situation, it’s difficult to verify Watchful Wolf’s claims. However, it does make sense that Activision would do whatever it can to try to maximize Black Ops 6’s sales, as it’s the first one releasing on Xbox Game Pass. It also comes at a sensitive time for the Xbox brand, which now owns Activison. But it’s also important to note that this isn’t the first high-profile Call of Duty mod to get the axe from the publisher, and we highly doubt that it’ll be the last. The Black Ops 6 beta begins on Friday, August 30.

We’ve reached out to Activision for comment, and we’ll update the piece accordingly if we hear back.