Modern Warfare 2 PC won't support dedicated servers
Whatever goodwill may have been garnered by Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling's announcement that the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 wasn't delayed has been stripped away by an interview which surfaced later in the day. On the latest podcast (around the 1:41 mark) of Call of Duty fansite Bash and Slash, Bowling revealed that matchmaking within Modern Warfare 2 would be reliant on proprietary server technology (called IWNet), and wouldn't allow users to host their own dedicated servers.
Even without a doctorate in PC gaming affairs, it's easy to see how this fact would upset someone (or some community) who drops a wad of cash every month on renting a private server. Also preturbed by this news are fans of modded game modes and custom maps -- both of which would be unlikely under the IWNet framework. While Bowling maintained that the new server tech would be a boon for the PC gaming community, most hardcore PC gamers aren't particularly thrilled about MW2's server hosting capabilities being brought into parity with those of the console versions of the game. (That is to say, completely eliminated.)
