What is Call of Duty SM2 and why is it shutting down?

Call of Duty SM2 is an independent project that is being developed on the Modern Warfare Remastered engine. However, based on reports, the project has been shut down after Activision took legal action. It was supposed to be available for free for all that brings the best the Call of Duty series has to offer in a single package, including maps, guns, and more.

SM2 has been in development for the last two years. It was originally based on the Modern Warfare 2 engine and was supposed to be accessible to those who own the original game. Not long after, the developers switched to the Modern Warfare Remastered engine that delivered a huge upgrade to the graphics and brought the new-gen mechanics to the table.

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Why is Call of Duty SM2 shutting down?

Recently, a team member of the SM2 development project received a 'Cease and Desist' letter from Activision, the publishers of Call of Duty. The team would face severe legal consequences for not complying with the order, and as a result, the entire SM2 project, which had been under development for the past two years, has been shut down immediately.

The Discord update from of the developers of Call of Duty SM2 named 'simon' reads:

“Today, a team member received a cease and desist letter on behalf of Activision Publishing in relation to the SM2 project. We are complying with this order and shutting down all operations permanently. Thank you all for your support over the past two years.”

Call of Duty SM2 was still under development, and no official release date or even a time frame for its release was discussed. However, fans who were eagerly anticipating its arrival are disappointed.

The Call of Duty community has been critical of most recent launches and was looking forward to this project as it brings all the iconic COD elements into a single free-to-play game. Based on what was revealed, it would entail maps, guns, camos, killstreaks, game modes, and more from all the entries into the series until Black Ops 4.

After receiving the Cease and Desist letter, the entire project has been completely shut down, including their website, which now redirects visitors to the Twitter page of Call of Duty SM2. However, the fact that the project was scrutinized only after they shifted to the Modern Warfare Remastered engine has raised a few eyebrows in the game's community.

Many Call of Duty content creators, including NerosCinema, had supported the project ever since it was revealed. After the news of the project's cancellation, he quickly came out to support the independent developers and criticized Activision.

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