‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ might be headed back to Steam after a cryptic leak

PC gamers have not had the option to purchase or play new "Call of Duty" games through Steam for a few years now. However, a seemingly accidental image update may have hinted that the launch of "Modern Warfare 2" would mark the game's return to Valve's digital store.

Reddit user Kalinine was the first to notice that the official artwork for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" that features Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley was uploaded on Steam. They found the image used as a banner image on the "Black Ops 3" DLC page, under the "Explore the Franchise" section. The user shared a screenshot of the said image.

Shortly after the possible slip-up gained attention online, the same Reddit user noticed that the "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" artwork had been removed. It was replaced with a blank image, which only raised speculations that the inclusion of the official teaser may have been some sort of leak. As of this writing, the same banner image on Steam is still blank.

It has been more than four years since Activision released a new "Call of Duty" game on Steam. The last mainline entry made available on the digital store was "Call of Duty: WWII" in late 2017. Since then, PC gamers have needed to purchase and play the new installments of the franchise through Battle.net. While Activision has yet to announce if "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" is, indeed, making its way to Steam, fans are already excited about the small chance hinted at by the artwork's appearance on the website.

However, some fans are also wary of interpreting why the "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" artwork was briefly spotted on Steam. One Reddit user suggested the possibility of allowing players to purchase the game on Steam, but Activision might still require them to access the game through the Battle.net launcher app.

The said artwork, along with other teaser images, was released last week. Infinity Ward, the studio developing the game, confirmed the beloved members of Task Force 141 are coming back in "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2." Joining Ghost are Captain John Price, John "Soap" MacTavish, and Kyle "Gaz" Garrick. The game will also introduce a new member of the team named Colonel Alejandro Vargas from the Mexican Special Forces. The game is slated to launch on Oct. 28.