Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Censored in Russia; Gains Developer Console via Hack

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Two of the more controversial aspects of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have both seen significant developments, one in an official capacity and the other unofficially.

On the official side of things, Activision has confirmed reports that the Russian version of the Infinity Ward's record-breaking shooter was censored in the territory, specifically removing the controversial airport-set "No Russian" terrorist sequence.

"Other countries have formal ratings boards that we regularly work with," the company told Eurogamer. "However, Russia does not have a formal ratings entity. As a result, we chose to block the scene after seeking the advice of local counsel."

Added Activision: "Reports that Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been banned [on consoles] in Russia are erroneous. Activision only released a PC version of the game in Russia which went on sale on Tuesday, Nov. 10."

On the unofficial side, Destructoid brings word that hackers have found a way to activate the developer console on PC, enabling cheats and reportedly dedicated servers--the lack of which prompted a vocal community response. However, the accompanying video and information seem to only detail cheats--not dedicated servers.

Anti-cheat protection was said to be among the various benefits of the matchmaking system that replaced dedicated servers on PC, with video of the exploits below:

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 17, 2009 12:02 PM

    "Reports that Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been banned in Russia are erroneous. Activision only released a PC version of the game in Russia which went on sale on Tuesday, Nov. 10."

    So, the PC version is not a real version of the game?

    • reply
      November 17, 2009 12:07 PM

      It's not banned. It was censored.

      • reply
        November 17, 2009 12:08 PM

        Actually, I'll clarify that a bit further in the story. That was a response to rumors that the console versions had been banned.

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