Infinity Ward asks Modern Warfare 2 early access streamers not to doxx themselves

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward is cautioning content creators to be mindful of what information they might inadvertently share to the public when streaming the game.

In a tweet sent out Wednesday, the studio urged Modern Warfare 2 streamers to only show their face cams when loading into the game. Apparently, there's some kind of login screen that displays your email address and Activision ID when starting the game, so it'd be pretty easy for an unwitting creator to accidentally expose their personal information for the world to see (and potentially use maliciously). 

"Call of Duty Content Creators: If you are going to stream Campaign Early Access, please go full face cam when loading into the game," reads Infinity Ward's tweet. "There is a screen that has your email/ATVI ID, so please protect your personal information."

It's a little unusual for a AAA studio to be warning content creators against doxxing themselves, but if it prevents a potential problem, it's hard to complain. Of course, folks online were quick to point out that Infinity Ward and Activision could take matters into their own hands by simply removing the sensitive information from that particular in-game screen. Regardless, for the time being it's probably best to take heed of this PSA and keep a close eye on what screens you're streaming out.

The Modern Warfare 2 campaign preload and early access period begins tomorrow, October 20, for anyone with a digital pre-order. If you're gearing up for the campaign and don't want to wait a second longer than you have to, it's also available to everyone to preload on all platforms right now. The game launches for everyone else a week later on October 27.

Find out where your favorite entry ranked on our list of the best Call of Duty games.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

Read more
Operation: Harsh Doorstop
"You and I will have legal problems": FPS dev threatens action against rival streamers who've taken more than $10k "from studios we compete with"
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail screenshot featuring character Y'shtola Rhul, a Miqo'te woman with white hair framing her face and cat-like ears
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail helped players block stalkers, but the problem might get much worse with a backend exploit some mods are already taking advantage of
Scanning a creature in Subnautica 2.
Subnautica 2 devs warn players about "fraudulent links" to a playtest for its upcoming underwater survival game: "Stay safe out there, Subnauts!"
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
136,000 Call of Duty accounts have gotten banned since ranked launched for Black Ops 6: "We’re not slowing down in our mission to shut down cheaters"
Junker Queen - Overwatch 2
Microsoft says the gaming AI it showed off in Overwatch 2 last week will only be added if devs don't think it's "unfair"
Dragon Age: The Veilguard screenshot of Solas
Dragon Age and Anthem producer says stop harassing developers "because you don't know the circumstances that resulted in the thing that you're mad at"
Latest in Call of Duty
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Call of Duty season 2 brings back Gun Game and a fan-favorite Zombies weapon we haven't seen in 10 years
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
136,000 Call of Duty accounts have gotten banned since ranked launched for Black Ops 6: "We’re not slowing down in our mission to shut down cheaters"
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War reportedly surpasses Red Dead Redemption 2's huge development costs, with a massive $700 million budget
Black Ops 6
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 makes headshots deadlier while cutting back on weapon sway and recoil: "We will be keeping a close eye on sniper balance after this change"
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 movement.
Black Ops 6 player spent nearly 20 hours grinding to Prestige without getting a single kill, all by spamming Spy Cams
Black Ops 6 Zombies
Call of Duty hacker says "I had my fun" after reportedly getting thousands of Warzone and Modern Warfare 3 players falsely banned
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"