Modern Warfare 2’s (2009) Worm Issue

In a world where remakes, remasters, sequels, and ports are thriving based on their critical acclaim and nostalgia factor, there are several things to consider when making older-gen games available to a player base. One of those things is fortifying cybersecurity practices, especially in multiplayer lobbies with older source code, servers, and bugs that haven’t been addressed.

Over the last few months, Activision has pulled 'Xlabs', a community mod that applied anti-cheat systems and dedicated servers, which helped older Call of Duty games be accessible to players looking to play on beloved titles. Since the pull of the community mod, Call of Duty, particularly Modern Warfare 2, has seen a rise in cybersecurity attacks.

One attack that affects the player base is a Worm - A computer worm is malware that self-replicates itself. Going from one computer to another, there are a variety of ways that a computer worm can spread, but the most prominent ways that could affect games are through security holes, networks, and IM/Chat. While a worm may seem small in comparison to bigger cyber attacks, a worm can often be considered a catalyst to a bigger issue. A worm can do the following once on a computer:

• Drop other malware (spyware, ransomware)

• Consume bandwidth

• Delete files

• Overload networks

• Steal data

• Open a backdoor

• Deplete hard drive space

The consequences go well beyond just the security risks as well, when negative feedback starts to take over it affects how players begin to view the studios and companies in charge of the future of the franchise. Taking away a community mod that affects the security of players has a negative impact on not only player’s confidential information but also their trust in developers.

Stats provided by Steamcharts

The player base since the worm was found in July has gone down, as you can see from the graph. It’s important to note that while the game never peaked with many concurrent players in its lifecycle currently, the risk of having players who play other Call of Duty games exposed to security flaws is a concern. In addition, ‘X Labs’ was not only for Modern Warfare 2 servers but a variety of older Call of Duty games, so the players affected are well over a thousands.

Activision being branded with ‘not caring’ for its older games by reviewers leaves a sour taste in recurring players’ mouths. This leads to the potential risk of losing buyers for future releases. In a time where user retention, engagement, and monetization are industry leaders, it’s important to handle potential cybersecurity risks such as these.

While the player count of Modern Warfare (and potentially other older Call of Duty games) may be small, there are a few things that could be considered when dealing with these issues. Understandably, it may not be in the best interests of the studios to waste resources and money on a game that is slowly losing player count. However, due to that Activision could have kept the community mod that help patch the security vulnerabilities in multiplayer lobbies. Another approach that could be considered is shutting down the servers. It’s not uncommon for game franchises to close down servers as time moves on; this could’ve been the approach while keeping the community mod until it’s officially shut down.

All in all, it is important to make sure that while older games are used for marketing releases and as a nostalgia factor for players, it's also important to make sure that older bugs, security holes, and any flaws are patched before being given to a platform with thousands of users.