You've got one week to try Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer for free

modern warfare 2 ground war — (Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

Clip on your weapon gewgaws, turn off voice chat, and prepare to do some things that definitely count as war crimes, because Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (the 2022 one, not the original, and yes I am still upset about how these things are named) is running a multiplayer "free access" week, giving you a chance to try out some of its multiplayer modes for no money down.

It kicks off later today, at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET / 6 pm BST, and ends at the same time on April 26. I'm unsure if the game will be smart enough to only download the parts you'll have access to, but you'll probably want to set aside 125-or-so gigs of space (the game's recommended space requirements on Steam) just to be on the safe side.

Gunfight
Ground War
Invasion
Team Deathmatch
Hardpoint
Domination
Kill Confirmed
Grind
Gun Game
Infected
One in the Chamber
All or Nothing

Gunfight is a 2v2 mode, Ground War and Invasion are far bigger and feature tens of players on each side, and all the remaining modes are 6v6.

That's not a bad offering, but it does mean you won't get access to modes like Free For All and Search and Destroy if you're taking advantage of the trial period.

Those modes are spread out across ten maps for free access players, which I've helpfully detailed in yet another bullet-pointed list below:

6v6 maps: Farm 18, Shoot House, Shipment, Dome, Himmelmat Expo, Pelayo’s Lighthouse
Gunfight maps: Alley, Blacksite, Exhibit, Shipment
Ground War/Invasion map: Santa Seña

The free access period is beginning just over a week after Modern Warfare 2's Season 03 update came out, and it's intended to give you a chance to sample the new season's offerings. If it also tempts you to drop $30 on its new super-premium Blackcell battle pass, well, I imagine Activision would be just chuffed about that.

Although Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 currently sits at a Mixed review score on Steam, PCG's Morgan Park rather liked the newest entry in the series when it released last year. Scoring it 83% in his Modern Warfare 2 review, Morgan wrote that "Modern Warfare 2 isn't the latest Call of Duty game—it's the latest Infinity Ward game. And nobody does Call of Duty better than Infinity Ward".

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.