Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has three release dates now

pcgamer.com:

The first boot of a new Call of Duty game is a crossroads with no right choice: do I jump into the big, flashy campaign headlining the game, or step first unto the virgin grasses of multiplayer, where no meta has yet taken root?

Activision is making that choice a bit easier for those who buy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 early. In a first for the series, those who pre-order will have early access to the Modern Warfare 2 campaign(opens in new tab) on October 20, a full week before the game officially launches on October 28.

On top of early campaign access, pre-ordering comes with a few other perks:

The program mirrors the approach that competitors like EA have taken to incentivize pre-orders and membership programs. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or EA Play members ($5/mo) can play a 10-hour trial of Madden 23 without purchasing the game, for example.

Earlier access to COD's campaign may not be a huge draw to most players, but I'm more likely to pre-order to get early access to the Modern Warfare 2 beta happening in September (the first few days of which is exclusive to PlayStation players). Activision is really stretching the definition of a «release date» here. Modern Warfare 2 now essentially has three release days:

Staggered releases are an effective technique for sustaining hype across a longer period, but I reckon those jumping into early access on October 20 will be underwhelmed. Launching Modern Warfare to find two-thirds of the game grayed out doesn't sound like an exciting introduction to the next year of CoD. By the time Halo Infinite's campaign released a month after its multiplayer, my Halo excitement had already died down.

Not to mention that you probably won't need a full week to get through Modern Warfare 2's