Action
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 (2009)
Hooks you almost right away
Gets good by 3h almost every game dips in hours 2–3
Reach the ending 68% of players who started
Started playing 72% of owners
Steam reviews 93% positive of 61,209
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 7 reviews are negative (14%); after 7h it's 1 in 18 (5%).
- The opening is criticised less than in 85% of games we track.
- 68% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “Tag 'em and bag 'em” (Find Rojas in the Favelas) and “Soap on a Rope” (Storm the gulag): from 79% to 69% of starters.
- 72% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 61,402 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 296 reviews: 7.6h for positive, 8.9h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (71.7% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Back in the Saddle Help train the local militia. 93% −7
- Cold Shoulder Infiltrate the snowy mountain side base. 88% −5
- Danger Close Get hand picked for Shepherd's elite squad. 87% −1
- Royale with Cheese Defend Burger Town. 82% −6
- Tag 'em and bag 'em Find Rojas in the Favelas. 79% −2
- Soap on a Rope Storm the gulag. Most players quit here 69% −10
- Desperate Times Execute the plan to help the Americans. 64% −5
- Whiskey Hotel Take back Whiskey Hotel. 62% −2
- Out of the Frying Pan… Complete the mission in the airplane graveyard. 61% −2
- The Pawn Assault Makarov's safe house. 59% −2
- For the Record Complete the Single Player campaign on any difficulty. 68% +9
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (50)
story milestone ending side
- Two Birds with One Stone Kill 2 enemies with a single bullet in Single Player or Special Ops. 100%
- Three-some Kill at least 3 enemies with a single shot from a grenade launcher in Single Player or Special Ops. 94%
- Back in the Saddle Help train the local militia. 93%
- Cold Shoulder Infiltrate the snowy mountain side base. 88%
- Danger Close Get hand picked for Shepherd's elite squad. 87%
- Ten plus foot-mobiles Kill at least 10 enemies with one Predator missile in Single Player or Special Ops. 85%
- Royale with Cheese Defend Burger Town. 82%
- Tag 'em and bag 'em Find Rojas in the Favelas. 79%
- Some Like it Hot Kill 6 enemies in a row using a thermal weapon in Single Player or Special Ops. 79%
- Gold Star Earn 1 star in Special Ops. 75%
- The Harder They Fall Kill 2 rappelling enemies in a row before they land on their feet in Single Player or Special Ops. 70%
- Soap on a Rope Storm the gulag. 69%
- For the Record Complete the Single Player campaign on any difficulty. 68%
- Desperate Times Execute the plan to help the Americans. 64%
- Unnecessary Roughness Use a riot shield to beat down an enemy in Single Player or Special Ops. 64%
- Whiskey Hotel Take back Whiskey Hotel. 62%
- Out of the Frying Pan… Complete the mission in the airplane graveyard. 61%
- The Pawn Assault Makarov's safe house. 59%
- Hotel Bravo Earn 4 stars in Special Ops. 57%
- Charlie On Our Six Earn 8 stars in Special Ops. 52%
- No Rest For the Wary Knife an enemy without him ever knowing you were there in Single Player or Special Ops. 50%
- Knock-knock Kill 4 enemies with 4 shots during a slow-mo breach in Single Player or Special Ops. 39%
- I'm the Juggernaut… Kill a Juggernaut in Special Ops. 38%
- It Goes to Eleven Earn at least 1 star in 11 different Special Op missions. 33%
- Blackjack Earn 21 stars in Special Ops. 31%
- Desperado Kill 5 enemies in a row using 5 different weapons or attachments in Single Player or Special Ops. 30%
- Look Ma Two Hands Kill 10 enemies in a row using akimbo weapons in Single Player or Special Ops. 29%
- Operational Asset Earn all 3 stars in at least 5 different Special Op missions. 27%
- Drive By Kill 20 enemies in a row while driving a vehicle in Single Player or Special Ops. 26%
- Specialist Earn 30 stars in Special Ops. 24%
- The Price of War Complete the single player campaign on Hardened or Veteran Difficulty. 21%
- Black Diamond Complete 'Cliffhanger' on Veteran Difficulty. 20%
- Operative Earn all 3 stars in at least 10 different Special Op missions. 20%
- First Day of School Complete 'S.S.D.D.' and 'Team Player' on Veteran Difficulty. 19%
- Colonel Sanderson Kill 7 chickens in under 10 seconds in 'The Hornet's Nest'. 15%
- Turistas Complete 'Takedown' and 'The Hornet's Nest' on Veteran Difficulty. 14%
- Red Dawn Complete 'Wolverines!' and 'Exodus' on Veteran Difficulty. 13%
- Prisoner #627 Complete 'The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday' and 'The Gulag' on Veteran Difficulty. 13%
- Professional Earn all 3 stars in at least 15 different Special Op missions. 13%
- Pit Boss Run The Pit in 'S.S.D.D.' and finish with a final time under 30 seconds. 12%
- Ends Justify the Means Complete 'Contingency' on Veteran Difficulty. 12%
- Homecoming Complete 'Of Their Own Accord', 'Second Sun', and 'Whiskey Hotel' on Veteran Difficulty. 12%
- Off the Grid Complete 'Just Like Old Times' and 'Endgame' on Veteran Difficulty. 12%
- Queen takes Rook Complete 'Loose Ends' and 'The Enemy of My Enemy' on Veteran Difficulty. 11%
- Downed but Not Out Kill 4 enemies in a row while downed in Special Ops. 8.5%
- The Road Less Traveled Collect 22 enemy intel items. 7.9%
- Ghost Plant the C4 in 'Cliffhanger' without alerting or injuring anyone in the blizzard. 6.6%
- Honor Roll Earn at least 1 star in each Special Op mission. 6.3%
- Star 69 Earn 69 stars in Special Ops. 5.0%
- Leave No Stone Unturned Collect 45 enemy intel items. 4.9%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-18.