There has been outrage as a highly anticipated mod for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered was forcefully shut down by Activision hours before its expected launch.

The H2 Multiplayer Mod (H2M) was set to remake the multiplayer maps from the original Modern Warfare 2 inside the PC version of Modern Warfare Remastered, according to Digital Trends.

Beyond recreating the maps, it also featured upgraded graphics, brand-new maps, remastered weapons, and a new progression system.

The mod team revealed that it was pulling the plug on the release in a post on X. “Today, our team members received a Cease & Desist order on behalf of Activision Publishing in relation to the H2M-Mod project. We are complying with this order and shutting down all operations immediately and permanently,” wrote the team.

Activision released Modern Warfare 2 Remastered in 2020, and it only included the single-player campaign, not the multiplayer, with the mod developers aiming to fill that gap.

Watchful Wolf, the founder of the H2M mod, released a video explaining why Activision shut the mod.

He said that as soon as they received the orders from Activision, they immediately halted all activities, including shutting down servers and taking their website offline.

The creator shared that Activision’s decision was influenced by the growing popularity of the MW2’s H2M mod and its proximity to the release of Black Ops 6 which is scheduled to be released on October 25.

Activision is reported to have been concerned that the mod would interfere with the marketing blitz and sales potential of the upcoming game.

He also noted that even if the mod had been developed on another platform such as Black Ops 3, it would likely have faced the same fate due to its popularity and timing.

The whole experience has left developers disgruntled. Watchful Wolf said that he plans to step away from modding Call of Duty games, but will continue to explore other mods and games on his channel.