Call of Duty have deleted all social media posts and marketing assets for the Marina Bay Grand Prix map that was due to be part of the Modern Warfare 2 beta this weekend.
Infinity Ward originally revealed during the Championship Weekend for the 2022 Call of Duty League. The map had featured the styling of a Formula 1 track, with a circuit running around the map layout.
Call of Duty showed off the vibrant-looking night-time map, with a video that was then originally posted to their YouTube channel and social media accounts. Infinty Ward announced it alongside the announcement of the Call of Duty: Next event that happened this past Thursday, September 15.
Stephanie Snowden, Director of Communications for Infinity Ward unveiled the map and stated that it would be available in the Modern Warfare 2 beta. The beta has been playable since Thursday. There has been no mention of the map in or out of game.
During the announcement, she confirmed it was one of the maps that Infinity Ward have had “really good feedback” on during playtests. This has led to a show of disappointment in the map’s apparent disappearance.
Call of Duty content creator “ModernWarzone” said that the map was “BY FAR” their favorite. They had the chance to play it during an Alpha playtest in June.
Why has the Grand Prix map disappeared?
The most likely reason for the map being removed from social media is licensing problems. The Formula 1 race that takes place in Singapore takes place on the Marina Bay circuit. That means there is already trademarks in place for the name of the track.
That would mean that Call of Duty would need to rebrand the entire map and change its design to comply with copyright law. Formula 1 also owns the intellectual property which is the design of the car itself, which also features heavily in the design of the map.
Screenshot from the removed Marina Bay Grand Prix map reveal trailer, via Call of Duty.
It’s highly unlikely that the map will completely disappear, with marketing materials needing to also be changed and rebranded.
There is historical precedent of Call of Duty using real-life locations as Call of Duty maps though. Even in the Modern Warfare series as recently as the 2019 iteration. The Picadilly map in that game was based on the actual London location.
The Valderas Museum map, also featured in the beta at the start of the weekend, is based on a real place. It’s based on the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
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Other map issues
There were other map-related problems during the first weekend of the Modern Warfare 2 beta. Call of Duty also had to change the map pool of the beta due to players finding exploits. The Valderas Museum map caused an issue where players could teleport hostages in the new Prison Rescue mode. Inifity Ward replaced with the Breenbergh Hotel map.
The second week of the beta opens up the ability to try Modern Warfare 2 to everyone on any platform. The public beta starts on Saturday, September 24. Players who have pre-ordered MW2 will be able to play the beta from Thursday.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Call of Duty news and updates.
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