Alongside the exciting announcement that a Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer and Warzone 2 reveal is set for September at Call of Duty Next, Infinity Ward teased fans with what’s to come by showcasing one of the new multiplayer maps coming to Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2: Marina Bay Grand Prix. If you’re a Formula One fan with a keen eye, you’ll recognise that this map appears to be based on the Singapore Grand Prix, hosted at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. However, what you may not have spotted in the short fly-through of this map shared during the CDL’s Championship Sunday on August 7 is that all of the drivers in the paddock appear to be named after developers.
That’s right, in this alternative reality Singapore Grand Prix, the paddock is made up of Infinity Ward developers. Alongside nods to real-life Formula One liveries and an unusual podium that puts an American driver in P3 and a Canadian driver in P2, it looks like a handful of Modern Warfare 2 devs will find themselves immortalised as fictional Formula One drivers in Call of Duty canon.
In the 40-odd seconds of Marina Bay Grand Prix map footage we were shown, we managed to identify four names in and amongst the chaos.
The names of senior producer Steve Najera, environment art director Paul Interrante, and environment artists Carlos Cervantes and Matt Evans can all be seen above the garages in the pit lane.
If we are all fortunate enough to see Infinity Ward fully recreate the whole paddock for Modern Warfare 2’s Marina Bay Grand Prix map, we could find ourselves running and gunning in and around the garages of another 16 developers. However, only time will tell just how big this map is going to be.
If you want to check out the footage for yourself and see what else you can find, you can below:
If this brief look at Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer has you excited, you’ll be pleased to know that Infinity Ward has confirmed that Marina Bay Grand Prix will be available to play in the upcoming beta. You can find out more about how you can get Modern Warfare 2 beta early access here – and what you need to know about Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 crossplay, if you want to get your squad together for the multiplayer beta, here.
We know the Modern Warfare 2 release date is on the way, but we still don’t know a whole lot about what to expect from this Call of Duty game – which is expected to be an era-defining entry in the series. Modern Warfare 2 DMZ leaks highlight Escape From Tarkov similarities and we have been officially introduced to some of the Modern Warfare 2 campaign characters, but there’s still so much more to come between now and launch.