Regarding Favela map being removed from public playlist rotation

[Laptop]

UPDATE #6 (22/10/2018) - Nothing has changed so this can be considered a final update. IW have confirmed they are aware this is still outstanding but for whatever reason have not bothered to restore it for the PC version despite it being done for both PS3 / Xbox years ago. At this rate we will likely see it ever again in a remastered version of MW2 that we will likely be shelling out full price for rather than them adding it for the current version out of the kindness of their own heart. If anyone does any have further info or wants to go bug IW for us all then feel free to let me know, but at this rate the only time you will see Favela on the PC is a hacked public lobby or in a private match.

UPDATE #5 (28/04/2017) - Date is not really relevant but Favela is still not restored for unknown reasons to mankind... At this point I think we're just going to have to call it a day. If it is ever restored or anyone does get in touch with the right person at IW or whatnot over this map then I'll be sure to update this and let you you all know. I've spoken to various parties at Activision and IW countless times over this and nothing is ever heard back, at this point we can assume they don't want to restore it even though it has been restored for the PS3 + Xbox 360 (and is on the PS4 / Xbox One re-release platforms).

UPDATE #4 (09/02/2017) - Been forwarded to somebody else at IW who was not aware of this before. It will be passed to the right person and we will see what happens.

UPDATE #3 (05/04/2013) - Somebody asked an IW employee on Twitter, they finally replied: https://twitter.com/candyslexia/status/342046749445193729 [Credit goes to - L1nKas. for letting me know]

UPDATE #2 (05/04/2013) - Contacted Activision again, they said IW had already been notified and it is up to them to do something.

UPDATE #1 (26/02/2013) - Spoke to Activision they said they would forward the message onto IW.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys,

As some of you may have noticed, the multiplayer map Favela has been removed from public playlists. This was essentially done as on the picture frames in-game there was text which stated "Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty." which offended some Muslim players because in the Islamic religion, you are not allowed to say or write anything about Islam in bathrooms.

This picture frame was also featured in some Modern Warfare 2 Single Player missions and a few Special Ops missions also, however this wasn't brought up in the video either because the uploader wasn't aware or because the Campaign / Special Ops is not as popular as the online.

The video which started all of this is still up on YouTube for those wishing to view it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M6JIUn9bDU
The map was removed from public playlist rotation (not the actual game) from all three platforms on October 8th 2012 by Activision while IW dealt with the map(s) containing the offensive text. In the meantime however the map was still playable in private matches, just not on public playlists.

Favela (and the Campaign / Special Ops) maps were then edited by IW to have all the picture frames removed and instead be replaced with a black texture where the frame would be.

On October 23rd 2012 the map was then restored to public playlists for the Playstation 3.

On December 10th 2012 the map was then restored to public playlists for the Xbox 360.

However, at the moment Favela has yet to return to public playlists for the PC. If you start up a private match and go into Favela, you will see that the offensive text in question has actually been removed and replaced with a black texture, only it hasn't been re-added to the public playlists for PC.

Unlike the Multiplayer matchmaking problem a few months back which you can see my thread on in this section, this problem should be a lot easier to fix. The problem is on Infinity Ward's end to restore the map to public playlists.

Long story short: The offensive text has been removed, just it hasn't been re-added to public playlists for the PC yet.

There are many news articles online about this, a few have been linked below -

"Modern Warfare 2's Favela map removed for offensive religious imagery" - http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/cod_modern_warfare_2/news/modern_warfare_2s_favela_map_removed_for_offensive_religious_imagery.html

"Favela Map Temporarily Removed Due to Offensive Islamic Imagery" - http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/2012/10/08/favela-map-temporarily-removed-from-mw2-due-to-offensive-islamic-imagery/

"Favela Returns to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the PS3" - http://mp1st.com/2012/10/22/favela-returns-to-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-on-the-ps3-new-mw3-247-playlists-inbound/

If anyone has any questions or wants to discuss something please post it here. If you have any new information to add to this, please add me to your friends list and let me know.

[Bawkr]

Hopefully MW2 remaster (if it ever exists) is better on PC like most recent multi-platform games are and hopefully it'll have Favela. I'd pay for that even though we got burned a bit by losing one of the better maps of this release. Terminal, Quarry and afghan are over issued by the system.

[Laptop]

Postat inițial de Nickelbawker:

Hopefully MW2 remaster (if it ever exists) is better on PC like most recent multi-platform games are and hopefully it'll have Favela. I'd pay for that even though we got burned a bit by losing one of the better maps of this release. Terminal, Quarry and afghan are over issued by the system.

It probably will, but it's sad we have to wait and pay for a remaster just to see a tiny issue like this fixed.

[the_jACK_Ripper]

Postat inițial de Laptop65:

Postat inițial de Nickelbawker:

Hopefully MW2 remaster (if it ever exists) is better on PC like most recent multi-platform games are and hopefully it'll have Favela. I'd pay for that even though we got burned a bit by losing one of the better maps of this release. Terminal, Quarry and afghan are over issued by the system.

It probably will, but it's still we have to wait and pay for a remaster just to see a tiny issue like this fixed.

as much as id like to say i wont get a remaster, i probably will get sucked in. i know for a fact pc wont have the support, like mwr didnt. i will then loathe activision forever, and never purchase another game from them. either that or they will turn it into a microtransaction hell, and honestly i already spend an embarrassing amount on csgo as it is.

[the_jACK_Ripper]

I mean comparing this
https://steamdb.info/app/393100/graphs/
to what this was when there was 100K daily playing...
https://steamdb.info/app/10190/graphs/

mw2 will probably top out at 10K and die just as fast.

[Kampeerder]

Yeah great a remaster and i have to pay again just to play Favela in a normal way with even less players and dlc maps as dlc maps( if the Xzibit memes were starting now there would some about Cod 4 remasterd and maybe a few about this one too) Its unlikely but it would be nice if they give the Mw2 remaster( If they ever decide to make it) to everybody that owns Mw2.

[the_jACK_Ripper]

Postat inițial de Kampeerder:

Yeah great a remaster and i have to pay again just to play Favela in a normal way with even less players and dlc maps as dlc maps( if the Xzibit memes were starting now there would some about Cod 4 remasterd and maybe a few about this one too) Its unlikely but it would be nice if they give the Mw2 remaster( If it they ever decide to make it) to everybody that owns Mw2.

yeah something for free is no longer a thing from a company that already has dlc packaged up on day one for every release.

[the_jACK_Ripper]

on top of that they are already hyping up cod wwii with tv ads, so you know they are hurting.

[Bawkr]

Not a fan at all of WWII games aside from the wolfenstein series which is less realistic. I hated that phase in the PS2 era looks like we are in it again with BF1 and now COD. That sucks that MWRM is dead but MW2 has more fun stats and if it's released standalone I think it'll pick up. Do they sell MWRM standalone yet?

[Laptop]

Postat inițial de Nickelbawker:

Not a fan at all of WWII games aside from the wolfenstein series which is less realistic. I hated that phase in the PS2 era looks like we are in it again with BF1 and now COD. That sucks that MWRM is dead but MW2 has more fun stats and if it's released standalone I think it'll pick up. Do they sell MWRM standalone yet?

No, not yet.

[the_jACK_Ripper]

Postat inițial de Laptop65:

Postat inițial de Nickelbawker:

Not a fan at all of WWII games aside from the wolfenstein series which is less realistic. I hated that phase in the PS2 era looks like we are in it again with BF1 and now COD. That sucks that MWRM is dead but MW2 has more fun stats and if it's released standalone I think it'll pick up. Do they sell MWRM standalone yet?

No, not yet.

and this alone is why their sales tanked, people saw the cash grab that infinite warfare was, along with past releases, and ran away.

hopefully they learn from their mistakes

[Bawkr]

Postat inițial de Laptop65:

Postat inițial de Nickelbawker:

Not a fan at all of WWII games aside from the wolfenstein series which is less realistic. I hated that phase in the PS2 era looks like we are in it again with BF1 and now COD. That sucks that MWRM is dead but MW2 has more fun stats and if it's released standalone I think it'll pick up. Do they sell MWRM standalone yet?

No, not yet.

Actually I looked it up before your reply but it's heavily hated some of the original maps are DLC I guess. They say the release is good but the player base is bad because of the sheer cost of the remaster being a lot higher than the standard version which has more content.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/393080/Call_of_Duty_Modern_Warfare_Remastered/

[Laptop]

Postat inițial de Nickelbawker:

Actually I looked it up before your reply but it's heavily hated some of the original maps are DLC I guess. They say the release is good but the player base is bad because of the sheer cost of the remaster being a lot higher than the standard version which has more content.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/393080/Call_of_Duty_Modern_Warfare_Remastered/

Yeah that's another thing, the maps in the original 2007 release were all free for PC (but charged for consoles).

Now however, you have to pay for them this time, whether you are on PC or console.

[the_jACK_Ripper]

see how that is just an upgrade, its totally bogus. so instead of paying the 80+ they were asking now i need to ebay a key or genuine dvd copy, and then pay another 30. its rediculous. i surely dont know the numbers on console, but they have to at least parallel pc, and if its a growing trend wwii will fail miserably and be the last nail in the coffin. and honestly, really, honestly, i love mw2, i like cod4, but activision has systematically destroyed the brand. im sure there are great people with great passion for what they do making all the releases, and im sure they [the developers] have the reasons for all that they have done to the brand, but the incessant year in and year out, plus hundreds of dollars of dlc, plus no support, plus no viable anti cheat, plus the way they pretty much absolutely forget about (and want you to forget about) last years release the next year, is why those 5 million players that played & bought mw2 on pc will not buy anymore.

[the_jACK_Ripper]

Postat inițial de Laptop65:

Now however, you have to pay for them this time, whether you are on PC or console.

to reference robert bowling, its the little things like the christmas crash map, and dedi server code that worked well, lan patches, and the like that it seems they dont give a ♥♥♥♥ about any more, idk call me jaded, wtfe, its what made the brand

[Laptop]

Added a final update, but at this point I don't see the map returning for MW2 on PC (unless it were a remastered version).