Call of Duty leaker says Modern Warfare II is already in its alpha stage

According to a new report from reputable Call of Duty leaker Tom Henderson, the development of COD 2022 is going along smoother than anticipated. Current leaks remain firm that the title, which is being developed by Infinity Ward, is named Modern Warfare II. The game will be a direct sequel to the successful reboot of the Modern Warfare franchise from 2019. While fans are speculative as to how Infinity Ward is doing on the development side, Henderson reports that Modern Warfare II is already in alpha.

When a game is in alpha, that means that it’s not ready to ship but it can be played. Gameplay elements are present and some other assets, like Operators, maps, etc. are also implemented. According to Henderson, this is the earliest a Call of Duty title has been considered in alpha in the time that he’s been reporting on the franchise.

Modern Warfare II already in alpha?

Though January is fairly early for a Call of Duty title to be in alpha, it does make sense for Infinity Ward to be farther along than other developers. This is the first Call of Duty title to have a full three-year development cycle since Modern Warfare 2019. It also should be less impacted by COVID-19 than the previous two releases, Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard.

Henderson says in his video that “everything is running smoothly” when it comes to Modern Warfare II’s current development. Comparatively, Henderson reported that Vanguard was in a much rougher state this time last year. However, this can somewhat be attributed to a shorter development cycle and COVID-19 restrictions.

The sources telling Henderson this information are supposedly developers working on the game. The developers allegedly told Henderson that the game is considered in alpha as of right now. The leaker also claimed to have seen pre-alpha footage of Modern Warfare II’s third game mode, called DMZ, and said that it looked better than other pre-alpha footage he’s seen in previous years.

Of course, all of this is still unconfirmed. Players should take this information with a grain of salt, but by current accounts, Modern Warfare II looks to be in a good spot. Henderson and other leakers still maintain the game will release sometime in October, with a reveal coming during the summer.