Modern Warfare 2 won't get Ranked Play until 2023, but Vanguard and Cold War's shut down this month

(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is getting Ranked Play sometime in 2023, but before that the ranked queues for Vanguard and Black Ops Cold War are shutting down this month.

In a tweet, Vanguard Ranked Play developer Treyarch confirmed the following to be coming to Modern Warfare 2 in 2023: competitive modes, ranked skill divisions, visible skill ratings, a top 250 leaderboard, and competitive rewards - so pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a Call of Duty ranked mode.

What's a little curious is that Ranked Play isn't hitting Modern Warfare 2 sooner. You'd think it might be added with the Modern Warfare 2 Battle Pass at the start of season one, which is set to debut on November 16. Plus, 2023 is a pretty vague release window; if it's Q4 2023, we could be looking at a full year without Call of Duty Ranked Play, though that seems unlikely.

It's only natural for Activision to want to move as many players over to the newest title as possible, but shutting down Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard's ranked queues will nonetheless be a sting to some folks, especially without so much as a release month for their successor. Regardless, Treyarch advises you grab any remaining rewards before November 22, which is presumably the date Ranked Play will no longer be available in those games.

"The success of these modes has directly contributed to the future of Ranked Play. We sincerely thank you for all the data, feedback, and time played that was collected over the past two years. We look forward to sharing more soon!" reads Treyarch's tweet.

Now that we've had plenty of time with the campaign and multiplayer, here's our full Modern Warfare 2 review, and here's how to earn Modern Warfare 2 XP fast so you can hop through the ranks as soon as possible.

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.