The Call of Duty series is known for its bombastic, explosive and occasionally controversial campaigns – and Modern Warfare 2 is no different.
You’ll once again be on a globe-trotting adventure, moving between action set pieces in Mexico, the Middle East and the Netherlands with the odd stealth section sprinkled in.
However, the ending and now obligatory post-credits scene teases an exciting new development for the franchise – one that will appeal to fans of the original Modern Warfare games in particular.
It goes without saying that spoilers abound for those who have not yet finished the campaign, but read on for those after an explanation of that ending.
CoD MW2 ending explained
As with Modern Warfare 2019’s ending, Modern Warfare 2 ends with Task Force 141 celebrating in a bar after defeating Zyani and safely detonating the missiles.
There’s more business to be taken care of, however, as Shepherd has disappeared and Laswell wants Price to investigate the ultranationalists that ambushed the Shadow Company convoy earlier in the game. She also reveals the Russian group has been working with someone new, passing over a picture of their new ally – who is none other than Vladimir Makarov.
Who is Makarov?
Makarov was, of course, the main antagonist of the original Modern Warfare series, who manipulated global events in order to start World War Three while also pursuing a vendetta against Captain Price. He’ll undoubtedly be the villain once again in the next instalment of the Modern Warfare reboot, but we get to see a glimpse of his plan in the post-credits…
CoD MW2 post-credits explained
As with all media these days, Modern Warfare 2 has a post-credits scene – though long-term franchise fans won’t want to miss this one. The brief scene sees someone on a plane assembling a pistol, before receiving a text message on his phone saying “No Russian”.
An instruction to only speak English, “No Russian” is, of course, a reference to the famous and highly controversial mission of the same name in the original Modern Warfare 2 game, in which Makarov carried out an attack on a civilian airport and framed the US for the event.
It looks like we’ll get a reimagining of the infamous scene later down the line, though it remains to be seen if this particular storyline will be followed up in Warzone 2 or the inevitable Modern Warfare 3.
It will be interesting to see how Infinity Ward tackles this topic over a decade on – but it’s a sign that we can expect more references to the previous games going forward.
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