Infinity Ward recently announced the existence of IWNET, “a completely new backend infrastructure,” according to a new online post by the developer’s Creative Strategist, Robert Bowling, “that would allow matchmaking for multiplayer games on PC.”

This news sent a mini-shockwave through the PC gaming community and resulted in an online petition (which has nearly reached 120 000 signatures) seeking to convince Infinity Ward to reconsider the implementation of IWNET for the developer’s upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and re-allow the running of dedicated servers for the hardcore online crowd, and enable players to run custom game mods, maps, and organise private matches more easily.

Bowling has now posted a new entry on his fourtwozero.com blog, with the intention of dispelling any concerns PC gamers may have over the perceived restrictions of IWNET, also trying to explain how IWNET will benefit PC gamers in the long run.

To begin with, Bowling addresses those PC gamers who have released their ire over the idea that Infinity Ward has somehow abandoned them in favour of console users, saying:

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is actually the biggest investment Infinity Ward has ever made into the PC version of our games. It’s also the most feature-rich PC version we’ve ever made.

“IWNET takes the benefits of dedicated servers and allows them to be utilized and accessed by every player, out of the box, while removing the barrier to entry for players unaware of how to maintain a server on their own.”

How exactly does IWNET do what Bowling describes, and mix the benefits of dedicated servers with the relaxing of barriers to entry for new players?

Well, instead of the days of yore, scrolling through a server browser to look for the best quality game (in terms of ping, match type, number of players etc.), IWNET “takes all that into account for you,” says Bowling.

“All you have to do is select the playlist (pre-set gametypes with custom rules) that fits the style of play you are in the mood for,” Bowling continues. “When you do, it will automatically find you a game with the best performance, ping, and preferences based on your location and individual connection as well as matching you with players of your same SKILL.”

As for private matches, IWNET’s got you covered, says Bowling: “… say you’re in a clan and you want to play a Clan match with another team, or you want to practice for an upcoming tournament that has specific rules in a private game.

“Then you can start a Private Match (which is essentially like running your own private server) where you have complete control over the rules, who can join, boot players you don’t want, and essentially control the entire game or tweak it to your liking.”

IWNET also utilises a ‘Party System’ and ‘Friendslist’ to make it easier to jump into games with friends, and invite those friends into a match, while the biggest benefit to IWNET, Bowling says, is the assurance of a cheater and hack-free online gaming session, so that you “don’t have to worry about joining a server full of aim-bots, wallhacks, or cheaters.”

Bowling finishes off his post by saying: “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.”

If you want the nitty-gritty of the post, then you should definitely read the full article to see if any of your other concerns have been addressed.

Source: FourTwoZero.com