MW2 players slam 2.5 hour free access as a ‘joke’

While Modern Warfare 2 is coming to the end of its lifecycle, free access periods for multiplayer are still a brilliant way of drawing in new players.

This is especially true given that all progression and cosmetics will be carried over to Modern Warfare 3, so there's an incentive for competitors to unlock weapons, attachments, and skins ahead of the November release.

Although MW2 free access periods typically last a whole weekend or even seven days, this isn't the case for the recent one in Season 5 Reloaded, which only grants 2.5 hours of in-game time.

In the eyes of Call of Duty fans, this is a "joke" and a "pathetic," excuse of a trial that doesn't give new players anywhere near enough time in-game.

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Short MW2 multiplayer free access period flamed as 'pathetic'

Taking to the ModernWarfareII subreddit, user qwazimoda99 decided to highlight the unbelievably short 2.5-hour free access period for Season 5 Reloaded, slamming it as a "joke."

This spurred a huge amount of responses from CoD fans, who can't believe Activision has put such a low time limit for new players. According to them, the load screens and matchmaking will eat up at least half of that time anyway.

"It takes longer to download the game than the amount of time you get to play it," joked one user, with another claiming, "With matchmaking, load screens, and in-between round time that is about 16 hours of having the game up and running."

With others even going as far as to describe it as "ridiculous" and "pathetic," it's clear the community are disappointed potential new fans are being underserved.

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What dates is MW2 multiplayer free access available?

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When it comes to the details of Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer free access period, it's running from September 13 to 20.

During this 7-day period, you can only play a total of 2.5 in-match hours. This will go extremely quickly, especially if you're playing modes like Search and Destroy, Domination and Hardpoint.

While it's still worth jumping into the action if you're still on the fence about buying MW2, just remember the game has a massive download size, so it's whether the 2.5-hour time limit is worth the wait.