The ultra-intense Hardcore mode of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" will return with the Season 2 update scheduled for February 15. In a tweet posted yesterday, Infinity Ward said, "No HUD' No problem. hardcore is back!" announced, and encouraged players to keep an eye on the studio's blog (opens in new tab) for more details on the upcoming Season 2.

Hardcore mode is, as the name implies, a variant of "Modern Warfare": a multiplayer variant of ModernWarfare that eschews all that "HUD" nonsense and works like a bullet. It's certainly not for everyone, but it's irreplaceable for players who like to live with death at all times. It has been a staple of the series, but was not included in "MW2," which was released last October.

"Modern Warfare 2" players have lamented that fact ever since, and the game's Tier 1 mode, which was intended as a hardcore alternative, has not satisfied many players (opens in new tab). The continued absence of this mode has exacerbated the feeling among some members of the community that Infinity Ward has neglected MW2 in favor of Call of Duty's chaotic and popular battle royale mode, Warzone 2 (opens in new tab).

It is not surprising that the community's generally positive reaction to the news has also been scathing. For many, this mode is something that should have been in the game from the beginning, not something that appeared after lengthy complaints from fans; a comment by one Reddit user, FlowKom (opens in new tab), sums up the general reaction of the community: ATTENTION: The basic functionality of EVERY previous game is finally back after 3 months!!!" Meanwhile, another user joked (opens in new tab) that the Season 2 update just brought the game back to the standard set by Modern Warfare and Warzone 1 in 2019.

This is not to say that fan reaction has been negative--even the most scathing comments are generally happy that hardcore is back--but rather that for many, this is too little, too late. It will take more work to convince vocal fans that Infinity Ward cares about "Modern Warfare 2."