Dedicated servers for Mod Warfare 3 PC

By Tom Bramwell Published 17 August, 2011

Plus: COD Elite "console app" planned.

Activision has said that it will support dedicated servers in the PC version of Modern Warfare 3 despite ongoing concerns about how they can be used to cheat online.

Developer Infinity Ward famously ditched dedicated servers for Modern Warfare 2, claiming that it wanted to guarantee service quality for its whole customer base – a move that caused consternation throughout its PC community.

"The big announcement today is that we're supporting dedicated servers for PC, which is really cool," Noah Heller, who works at Beachhead Studios on Call of Duty stats service Elite, told Eurogamer at gamescom 2011.

"And of course we're working really hard right now on the customised version of Elite for the PC [versions of Call of Duty games], because it's an open platform and has some challenges."

Speaking of Elite, Heller also said that in addition to website, tablet and mobile versions of the service, which is currently in beta, Activision would be launching a "console app".

"We're also doing a console app," he said. "So right there on PS3 and 360 you can jump out of the game into the app and communicate with your clan or do whatever you need to do before running back into the game."

Call of Duty: Elite currently supports Black Ops in beta and will support Modern Warfare 3 fully. Expect to hear more on the service at the Call of Duty XP event in Los Angeles next month, which Eurogamer will be attending.

In the meantime, check out our Call of Duty: Elite preview for more on how the service works.

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (24) Latest comment 9 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #1 9 months ago

    Good news as long as I can set one up for out LAN and don't have to rent the fuckers elsewhere.

  • streetmagix #2 9 months ago

    Too little too late.

  • arcam #3 9 months ago

    Lesson learned I guess.

    Don't care about cheaters, dedicated servers let you find a well-run server where cheaters are booted by hand instead of by a computer program.

    Although really all I am interested in is Special Ops, where dedicated servers are not necessary.

  • geeza2020 #4 9 months ago

    Congrats Acti, welcome to 1997 ;-)

  • sfp_noodle #5 9 months ago

    Misleading headline and even more bullshit when you consider that the 360 and PS3 have been tagged to the story.

  • Peter_LIAR_Molyneux #6 9 months ago

    Looks like Activision Blizzard are getting a bit worried about their competition and are frantically adding features that it idiotically removed in previous games. Competition is good.

  • cheeky_pete #7 9 months ago

    The title says PC quite clearly and it's tagged with all platforms because the game is coming out on them all. PC gamers don't piss and moan about 360 related news coming up in our feeds.

    As for this news itself, well it's too late isn't it. Battlefield is strongly ahead in terms of good will and expectation. Activisions money train has ground to a halt on PC and no amount of promising us 'features' that every other game has as expected standard will work to fix that. Move over Call of Duty you're time is done.

  • WAusJackBauer #8 9 months ago

    I don't see how the title is misleading, did you guys think it meant there was mod support cus it said mod warfare?

  • arcam #9 9 months ago

    Call of Duty isn't dead on PC. It's just we have TF2 and Counter-Strike as well: http://store.steampowered.com/stats/

  • Shikasama #10 9 months ago

    Funny how all of these comments saying that PC gamers don't care about CoD, that BF3 is the game for PC gamers, or the money train has come to a halt, don't seem to pay attention to the Steam user stats.

  • Emperor_Rosko #11 9 months ago

    They must have watched the new Battlefield 3 Caspian Border trailer and basically shat their kegs....

  • arcam #12 9 months ago

    @Shikasama

    Despite linking to Steam stats above, I actually genuinely believe BF3 might beat CoD this year. Definitely not on consoles, but on PC it has a big chance IMO.

  • Bravestinsane #13 9 months ago

    Well duh, they have to compete with BF3 in some ways...

    All the better they are harder to cheat in my opinion as well, as Admins are much quicker and active to ban than having to wait ages for Acti to do it.

    Still wont be getting it though been ripped of enough with MW WaW and MW2 as well as BO

    6/60

  • Claudiov1.0 #14 9 months ago

    after the f****ng mo fiasco that black ops was(on the ps3), activision should invest in dedicated servers for the ps3... BF3 will probably have them...

  • Clive_Dunn #15 9 months ago

    Does it have jets, helicopters and tanks ?

  • whoyouknow #16 9 months ago

    Noah Heller drew the short straw out of Bobby's asshole this year it seems.

    "We're bringing back something we should never have taken away and if you don't pay us more money for Elite - on top of the £45 disc, Live fees and £12 map packs - we're going to treat you like freeloading scum. You're welcome, games industry."

  • shadowaspect #17 9 months ago

    That's more like it, Activision. I'll keep that pre-order in then.

    I'll be enjoying MW3 for what it is, alongside BF3, and many other games. Variety, it's the spice of life. :)

  • BigDaddy82 #18 9 months ago

    The title used to say Dedicated Servers for MW3, no mention of PC. They have since updated it.

  • rochyroch #19 9 months ago

    'despite ongoing concerns about how they can be used to cheat online.'

    oh yeh like MW2 was cheat free with IWNet !

  • Nacelle #20 9 months ago

    I don't understand why every bit of info has got to be dragged out of these guys. Are the server files open to the public or not? If so, my LAN parties will include MW3. Otherwise we're staying with CoD4. I kick myself every time I look at the Black Ops box on my shelf. We were promised dedicated servers with that and look what we got.

  • SuperHans_ #21 9 months ago

    What about dedicated servers for consoles? Your biggest buyers yet we have to rely on some random person in Europe to host a game, its a joke, P2P match making is absolutely horrible and creates a frustrating and unbalanced game. BF3 has got the right idea.

  • Ryuken #22 9 months ago

    "Funny how all of these comments saying that PC gamers don't care about CoD, that BF3 is the game for PC gamers, or the money train has come to a halt, don't seem to pay attention to the Steam user stats. "

    Euhm, since when do all PC online shooters use Steamworks stats like CS, TF2 and the latest CoDs do? It would be quite silly to assume that for example Bad Company 2 can only be played online through its Steam version, it has a lot more players than Steam stats show because it isn't a Steamworks game and has its own matchmaking. Anyway, CS has been nr.1 for ages there but that doesn't mean it's the best online shooter (on Steam or else), far from it even.

    On PC I think BF3 easily has the best cards on the table.
    Edited by Ryuken at 17/08/11 @ 18:44

  • Architect_z #23 9 months ago

    Mod Warfare? .........Battle of the mod designers?

  • Happyhammer7 #24 9 months ago

    Good. MW2 was a disaster so let's hope they give the PC community some love, although a doubt it. COD was never really the same anyway for me after COD2. Last good COD before killstreaks kinda ruined the fun.