Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 update has SP-R nerfs and M16 buffs

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 soldiers and vehicles
(Image credit: Activision)

The first major Modern Warfare 2 update has arrived alongside Season 01 and Warzone 2, and now the proper Modern Warfare 2 patch notes have dropped with a host of weapon balancing updates for both games.

Assault rifles are all getting a bit of reduction in long-range effectiveness with an increase to long-distance flinch, and the official site goes deep on some more specific changes. The M16 in particular is in line for no fewer than eight separate changes – mostly buffs for everything from rate of fire to movement speed and recoil.

Another particularly notable change comes to the SP-R 208 - there's been a "large increase to flinch when hit". That's not a massive change, but it should help bring the marksman rifle back in line with its fellows.

Also of note: we've got "improved footstep audio". The patch notes aren't specific on what this means, but early player reports suggest that steps have gotten much louder. Campers are getting a big setback of their own, though, with the drill charge now able to kill through riot shields.

Broadly, Modern Warfare 2 appears to have gotten off to a good start, helped along commercially by becoming the biggest Call of Duty launch in history. The $800 million that the game made in its first three days is a nice boon for Activision. Now, the fans are hopping into the new battle royale in droves, though the arrival of Warzone 2 has had players bidding farewell to the original.

Here's our guide to all the Modern Warfare 2 maps, and our breakdown of the Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 roadmap for Season 01.

Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

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