Modern Warfare 2 beta is filled with hackers, but Infinity Ward is "taking action"

Infinity Ward has committed to "taking action" against cheaters in the Modern Warfare 2 beta matches.

Although Modern Warfare 2  isn't even out yet, it seems some can't help but try and get ahead by cheating. Developer Infinity Ward has seen enough, though, and vows that from tomorrow - September 25 - it will be "taking live action" against any players caught cheating in the beta test running on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation consoles. 

"Tomorrow, we'll begin taking live action against cheaters and hackers in Beta matches," the studio tweeted earlier today (September 24).

"We've heard a lot of you on disbanding lobbies," it added in a follow-up tweet in the same thread. "We're working on a few tweaks to increase the chance of lobbies staying together, and improving the UI when it happens."

As is usually the case, IW didn't elaborate on how it was going to take on cheaters – doing so gives them a head's up and a chance to conceal their nefarious behavior – but some reports suggest wall-cams and aimbots are already available.

"How are there already guys with walls and aimbot in the beta?" asked one bewildered player in the subreddit. "I had a dude just straight up admit to me and my team that he was trying out his walls. It was pretty obvious throughout the match, but I mean come on. How does anyone think it's fun to cheat? Doesn't it get old at some point?"

Modern Warfare 2 isn't even out yet, but already its beta test has clocked up over 150,000 concurrent players on its debut day on Steam. This morning, that figure was just 110,000.

That peak is higher than the all-time records set for games like FIFA 22, Rocket League, Dark Souls 3, Borderlands 2, and Battlefield 2042… and it's still in beta. 

Of course, that's only a fraction of the player base – the beta is also live for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X users, too – but it's a good indication of the interest the game is drumming up ahead of its formal release on October 28, 2022.

Missed the first beta test and wondering if the hype is real? That's okay. The countdown clock for the next Modern Warfare 2 beta is over, and the second test went live on Thursday, September 22.

Modern Warfare 2 beta crashes and error codes continue to cause issues for some, though. If you're having trouble, check out our Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 error codes guide. We're also monitoring whether or not Modern Warfare 2 servers down is a problem, so pop back and double-check if you continue to have trouble. 

There are plenty of big titles on our upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games lists that you can get stuck into while you wait for Modern Warfare 2.