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Modern Warfare 2: Stimulus Package

Robert Bowling talks about today's DLC infusion.

EurogamerWhen are PC and PS3 owners getting the Stimulus Package?
Robert Bowling

No date has been set for those platforms, but as soon as we know, we're going to be alerting our community.

EurogamerGive us a clue? Are we talking one month, two months...?
Robert Bowling

No, er, we don't have a date yet, so I don't want to speculate and then miss it.

EurogamerMicrosoft's promised another, second batch of timed-exclusive Modern Warfare 2 DLC for Xbox 360. We waited from November 2009 for the first lot - can we assume this will turn up quicker, given the presence of BFBC2?
Robert Bowling

The second map pack? I don't think a date's been set yet. Right now we like to focus on one map pack at a time and not let marketing or competition determine our development cycles. We set a quality bar; we really want our DLC not to be pushed out for quantity. That's what dictates our development cycle.

EurogamerYou've announced a first double-experience weekend for Modern Warfare 2 in April. Are these going to become more common?
Robert Bowling

I'd like them to! But we're gong to reserve them for special events. We're doing our first one the weekend following the DLC release. We like to keep them scarce - if you do too many then you devalue the whole rank-up system.

It's like World War I tactics all over again.
EurogamerWhen you read Major Nelson's Xbox Live Activity charts, does a cheer sound through the office when Modern Warfare 2 is at the top?
Robert Bowling

We definitely celebrate those lists when they come out. That's what matters most to us. That's a direct reflection of what our players are doing. Definitely we take a lot of pride in those lists, when we see Modern Warfare 2 is number one since launch.

EurogamerHow long can you stay top for? How long are the legs of Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer?
Robert Bowling

They're proving to be pretty long! As long as our community keeps playing it every night we're going to keep supporting them by coming up with new content and playlist updates - we're supporting them for supporting us. If we keep that up and they keep that up then I think we can stay up there for a while.

EurogamerWhat sort of hours are people pouring in to MW2? Can you track that stuff?
Robert Bowling

We would have to do some digging. Just talking to some of our most hardcore players, I mean some of these guys have 14, 15, 16 days of playtime! It's pretty insane. Personally I have a little over five days, and I thought that was hardcore!

EurogamerAre you proud when Modern Warfare 2 fans stick with your game even when Treyarch releases a new Call of Duty title?
Robert Bowling

We definitely take pride that our players stick with us regardless of any other games that come out. We definitely have a very loyal community and we love that.

The Stimulus Package is out today on Xbox Live and costs 1200 Microsoft Points (£10.20/€14.40)