Last week, when Infinity Ward revealed it was dropping dedicated servers from the PC build of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in favor of a new matchmaking infrastructure called IWNET, it was like someone sucker-punched the PC gaming community. The reaction was both immediate and loud: forums erupted with angry posts, and a petition asking Infinity Ward to rethink its decision quickly surpassed 150,000 signatures.

So far, the developer seems to be ignoring the complaints of its PC audience. This isn't whining, however. Digging below the surface reveals that those who are asking Infinity Ward not to do away with the dedicated servers entirely are not simply scared of change. Instead, they want the PC gaming experience to be as enjoyable as possible for the entire community, something they say isn't possible without control of the servers.

Why this matters

So what's the big deal about the loss of dedicated servers? Quite a lot, actually, especially for hardcore PC gamers involved in competitive FPS leagues. "To lose dedicated servers means we lose control of what rules we can use in clan matches (each league has its own rules, perks, weapons, etc). These rules, more than likely, are run by mods, such as PAM, Openwarfare, or Pro-Mod," said Dave Wilks, the author of the petition and an administrator for Codleague. "No dedicated servers mean no mods... we wouldn't be able to upload mods to IWNET."

Of course, Infinity Ward has been quick to tout the advantages of using IWNET over dedicated servers. By utilizing "playlists" (pre-set game modes and types for public matches), players won't have to search for a game on a list of available servers. The system will also "put you in the game that will give you the smoothest gameplay possible without you having to manually find a server with the best ping."

The final advantage of this new system, according to the developer, is that it will use the Valve Anti-Cheat system in order to "control the quality of the game much more than ever before." According to the claims, IWNET will eliminate the need to worry about "joining a server full of aim-bots, wallhacks, or cheaters. Or relying on the server admin of the server to constantly be monitoring, banning, and policing it."

While it's true that dedicated servers can't really have someone monitoring the games on them 24/7, many of them utilize PunkBuster, an anti-cheat system for online multiplayer games. If you're a dedicated player who sticks to one server, it's also comforting to know those that care about the community around that server are working to keep the cheaters out; control rests in the hands of the players, not Activision.

Even if the IWNET system does work as Infinity Ward claims it will, it's easy to understand gamers' concern. "I don't know if [dedicated servers will be better] in general day to day play," admitted Wilks. "The only game I've played with matchmaking or similar is Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, which also has a server browser so you can actually pick the server to go in.

"The thing with a matchmaking system [is that] you are reliant on the host not taking his bat home if he's getting pummeled in a game, and also on the host's internet connection being able to handle the amount of people in the server. With a [dedicated server], you usually have it located in a datacentre, with a decent connection, and so everyone connects to the server which means fairer play (no 0 pings)."

The PC gamer as whining loser

The concerns seem valid, despite what many people seemed to think when complaints started to surface last week. Even Jerry Holkins of Penny Arcade jumped on the bandwagon, naysaying the complaints as little more than pointless sound and fury from a community that is no longer a key audience.

"To read such lamentations, you'd get the impression that PC gamers still think they are the focus of the industry, when that hasn't been true for awhile," he wrote in a recent post. "Indeed, hardcore gamers in general—and the dedicated PC enthusiast, which is a subset—haven't been the object of their desire for some time."

Wilks, of course, disagrees. "No, I don't think [Holkins' opinion] is true," he said. "PC gamers know that they are the minority (15 percent in Call of Duty 4). PC Gamers haven't been primary audiences for a long time for most publishers or developers, although some still do develop only on PC."

Wilks claims the community's hope is that groups like Infinity Ward will keep dedicated servers running side-by-side with systems like IWNET. "All in all, IWNET adds a load of new features that the PC version of our games have never had before and allows us an infrastructure to continue to update and improve on the game post-launch," he said. "At the end of the day, all we are asking for is support to run the game how we, the paying customers, want to run the game after all the support Infinity Ward was given by the PC gaming community."

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like developers want to consider this option, based on Infinity Ward's reaction to the petition. Despite assurances by Robert Bowling that the development team would see and respond to the petition, the ensuing silence on the matter has been deafening. Wilks hasn't seen any official response from either Bowling or Infinity Ward since then, and Bowling himself never responded to Ars' request for an interview.

The lack of dedicated servers also means Activision Blizzard controls what mods, if any, will be allowed. You can't control what maps are running on the server, and fan-made maps offered for free may be a thing of the past, replaced by for-pay content, if this model catches on. This changes the relationship between the community and the publisher: you used to be able to buy a house and move in, but now you'll have to ask permission to paint the walls of your rental. Which, by the way, is more expensive. To show you just how far Infinity Ward has come since the last Call of Duty in terms of embracing the PC platform, take a look at an interview shot for the first Modern Warfare.

In just a few short years, we've gone from embracing the mod-making and PC gaming community, to treating them like children who can't be trusted with nice things.

How will the PC gaming community react to the game if Infinity Ward goes ahead with its current plans and doesn't support dedicated servers? "I can only speak for the guys I know about," Wilks said. "A poll on our site suggests that 75 percent have canceled preorders. As for what the community will do, well, if [Infinity Ward] stays with just IWNET, then we won't be supporting Modern Warfare 2. We will find other games to play."