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Infinity Ward explains its plan to test Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer in closed beta only, asserting that keeping the game's multiplayer trials internal will actually ensure higher quality.

Leigh Alexander, Contributor

August 20, 2009

1 Min Read

There's no public beta currently planned for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, says Infinity Ward, maintaining that a closed-testing policy for the game's multiplayer will let the studio test more extensively. "The internal beta will allow us all the benefits of a public beta test without the impact it takes on the time required to prep, distribute, and manage a public beta during this crucial time in development," says community manager Robert Bowling on his weblog. Ultimately the decision to keep beta testing closed "allows us to deliver a more polished experience," he added. Bowling was addressing community concerns that the lack of a public beta would impact the quality of MW2's multiplayer, calling such fears "completely unfounded." "Multiplayer has always been and will always remain a major focus for the team at Infinity Ward, and we would never ship a product we didn’t feel lived up to the high standards we hold ourselves to," he stressed. He explained that the multiplayer component has been in the works "since day 1", and that Infinity Ward's internal QA not only tests it daily, but has been conducting additional nightly company-wide tests ever since the game's multiplayer was in a runnable state. Infinity Ward's 2007 hit Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had a multiplayer beta on Microsoft's Xbox Live prior to release. Bowling stopped short of absolutely ruling out any possibility of a public beta test for Modern Warfare 2. "Once the internal beta is completed, if for any reason we feel we didn’t receive the feedback, address the issues, or have the result we expect, we would consider pushing forward with a public one," he said. "However, at this point only an internal Closed Beta is planned."

About the Author(s)

Leigh Alexander

Contributor

Leigh Alexander is Editor At Large for Gamasutra and the site's former News Director. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Variety, Slate, Paste, Kill Screen, GamePro and numerous other publications. She also blogs regularly about gaming and internet culture at her Sexy Videogameland site. [NOTE: Edited 10/02/2014, this feature-linked bio was outdated.]

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