Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was one of the most popular multiplayer games in the world at one point thanks to its frantic action and well-integrated reward systems.
Now, with a remastered version releasing this year as a pack-in with Infinite Warfare, many have been looking to return to the game that established the Call of Duty series as a titan of the shooter genre.
But there’s one place where the game hasn’t been quite as popular. In fact, on the Windows 10 Store, the game has been so unpopular that a refund has been issued to a disgruntled customer who was unable to find enough players to play against online.
Online Wasteland
The problem has arisen because users who have purchased the game on the Windows 10 Store are unable to play against Steam users.
In fact, when one player tried to find a match online on the Windows 10 Store version they found just two people looking for a match. In contrast, there are around 1,500 people playing the game on Steam right now, with a peak of 5,500 people earlier today.
Although Modern Warfare does include a single-player campaign, its primary focus is as a multiplayer shooter. If there are no people online to play against, then the game has lost most of its value.
Infinite Warfare is locked down in a similar way, but as yet we have received no reports about a lack of people playing the Windows 10 Store version online.
Proactive Microsoft
To its credit, Microsoft has been very willing to issue refunds for the game, and said to Windows Central that “we support cross-play between devices and platforms for partners who want to enable it", suggesting that it’s Activision which has prevented cross-store play on Windows.
We have contacted Activision for comment on why it does not appear to be allowing cross-store play of its game.
The situation is another blow for the Windows 10 Store that has also been creating difficulties for Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere initiative, which seeks to bring cross-platform play to Xbox One and Windows 10.
If these issues continue, then it’s unlikely that the Windows 10 Store will be able to grow to take on the reigning champion, Steam.
Meanwhile Infinite Warfare's sales are down 48.4% compared to Black Ops III, with a backlash against its futuristic setting being blamed by Eurogamer.
- Check out our guide to the cheapest place to buy Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
