Call of Duty Fans Flock to Xbox 360 Classics Like Black Ops 2 and Modern Warfare 3 Following Apparent Server Update

Classic Call of Duty games on Xbox 360 appear to be enjoying a second wind after a server update sparked renewed interest in online play.

Reports indicate thousands of people were online over the weekend playing the likes of Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 3 (2011) and Treyarch’s Black Ops 2 (2012). Even the groundbreaking Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare from 2007 saw a boost.

These older Call of Duty games, while playable online still a decade after launch, were riddled with hackers, boosters, and cheaters. But reports emerged last week that some unannounced work was done to improve matters on Xbox 360 versions of the games, and, when word got around stable online play, thousands of fans ended up jumping in. These older Call of Duty games included online player counters, so while they may be prone to error, they provide a good indicator of current interest.

Black Ops 2 has over 10,000 players online on Xbox 360 with matchmaking working again. pic.twitter.com/KCuvh6vgTQ

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) July 16, 2023

Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox 360 had over 7,000 players active with matchmaking working again. pic.twitter.com/t6kmpuzKyX

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) July 16, 2023

Matchmaking servers for these games on PC and PlayStation 3 remain troubled, according to player reports, so Microsoft’s old console is where the action is.

Usefully, Xbox 360 Call of Duty games are playable on Xbox Series X and S via Microsoft’s backwards compatibility support, so you don’t even need to dust off your old console to take a shot of nostalgia.

The timing of all this is interesting, given Microsoft’s expected $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard, the hot off the press deal between Microsoft and Sony to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for a decade, and the incoming announcement of this year’s Call of Duty game, widely expected to be (a new) Modern Warfare 3.

Could Microsoft and Activision be preparing to launch the Call of Duty back catalog on Game Pass soon? It’s worth mentioning that most of these old Call of Duty games are currently on sale on Xbox. IGN has asked Activision for comment.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.