[2] The player controls a soldier who can perform several actions, including jump, sprint, crouch, lay prone, and aim down their gun's iron sights.

The now Captain John "Soap" MacTavish serves as a senior member of Task Force 141, acting as Roach's superior officer, and becomes the playable character in the final three missions of the game.

For Task Force 141, Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley, a British operator who conceals his face with a skull print balaclava, serves as Soap's second-in-command.

Other supporting characters returning from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare include Captain John Price, MacTavish's former commanding officer in the British Special Air Service, and Russian informant turned mercenary pilot "Nikolai."

Five years after preventing a nuclear war by the SAS and the Force Recon,[c] the Ultranationalists have ultimately seized control of Russia and Imran Zakhaev becomes a martyr.

Diplomatic relations with the United States are strained, while Vladimir Makarov, an Ultranationalist extremist and Zakhaev's protégé, commits to a campaign of vengeance against the West with acts of terrorism.

He is then embedded with the CIA and adopts a secret identity to infiltrate Makarov's terrorist cell, leading to him participating in a mass shooting at an airport in Moscow, killing hundreds of Russian civilians.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson and Captain John "Soap" MacTavish secure an Attack Characterization System (ACS) module from a downed American satellite that Russian forces had retrieved at an airbase in the Tian Shan range.

In retaliation for the airport massacre, Russia launches a surprise invasion of the United States via the Eastern Seaboard, facilitated by their earlier capture of the ACS module, which allowed them to disable American satellites over North America, leaving NORAD blind.

They then launch a counterattack to retake the White House and stop a U.S. Air Force bombing run from destroying the city in an attempt to deny it from the Russians.

According to Bowling, Infinity Ward determined that the Wii's technical limitations made it impossible to deliver the same cinematic experience that the sequel aspired to present.

[29] Infinity Ward announced in October 2009 that the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 would not support the use of user-run dedicated servers or in-game console commands.

[33] In an interview with Jesse Stern, he talked to producers of Infinity Ward with ideas such as "outbreaks, viruses, chemical warfare, and even outlandish things such as aliens and the living dead.

"[34] Stern mentioned having the game based on real-life conflicts before they halted further planning at first due to events in the 2008 South Ossetia war and in the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

[35] Although proprietary, the game is based on an unspecified id Tech engine, and can accommodate larger worlds, enhanced graphic detail, and more efficient rendering.

[37] The developer demonstrated that the game engine uses a "dynamic AI", which has replaced the infinite respawn system and allows enemies to act more independently.

[38] On August 20, 2009, Robert Bowling revealed through Twitter that Kevin McKidd, Craig Fairbrass, Barry Pepper, Keith David, and Glenn Morshower were confirmed voice actors for the game.

[53] Peripherals manufacturer Mad Catz was contracted by Activision to create a line of Modern Warfare 2 controllers and accessories for all platforms that the game would be available on.

[70] On September 15, 2009, Activision and Microsoft jointly announced a special, limited Modern Warfare 2 version of the Xbox 360 with a 250 GB hard disk.

[79] The first map pack, titled the "Stimulus Package" was released first for Xbox Live on March 30, 2010[80] and for PlayStation Network and PC on May 4, 2010, in North America.

Activision released the second downloadable map pack, titled the "Resurgence Package", exclusively for Xbox Live on June 3, 2010, in North America.

[123] 1UP.com stated "Mixing real-world locations with bombastic set-pieces MW2 continues the guided, thrill-ride experiences of its predecessor, and adds even more depth to its multiplayer offerings.

IGN's Mark Bozon remarks that the single-player of "Modern Warfare 2 is surprisingly short, and doesn't live up to the standard set by previous Call of Duty games.

[129] Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica commented that, "at launch, this will be one of the most locked-down, inflexible, and gamer-unfriendly games ever created",[129] and an online petition for dedicated servers surpassed 150,000 signatures in ten days.

[138] In 2011, readers of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition voted Simon "Ghost" Riley as the 40th-top video game character of all time.

The only legitimate targets are a group of security personnel encountered in waves throughout the airport interior, and a more heavily armed gang of riot squad and FSB members deployed on the tarmac.

Vince Horiuchi of The Salt Lake Tribune felt that the level was in poor taste following the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, and questioned why its content couldn't have been shown in a non-interactive cutscene.

[178] In the same episode, Network N executive James Binns instead argued that the game had been appropriately classified as 'mature' (18+) and that it was therefore at the discretion of guardians to safeguard their children: "This is an adult piece of entertainment.

[179][180] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered, a visually-updated version of the original, was released for PlayStation 4 on March 31, 2020,[181][182] and for Xbox One and Microsoft Windows on April 30, 2020.

[182] The remaster features improved models and art along with remade cutscenes with new motion capture, as well as a revamped post-process pipeline and HDR support.