Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare released about 4 days ago and some groups of players are already having troubles finding online matches due to lack of players. Those who bought the game on PC had the option of purchasing the new entry in the popular series on Steam or the Windows Store. Those who opted to purchase from the Windows Store found a pretty big surprise. They can only play with other people who bought the game from the Windows Store, and for those unaware, not many people really buy games off of the Windows Store.

Activision split the player base significantly by separating Windows and Steam players and many Windows players are ticked off because they have no one to play with and can't play with their friends on Steam. Players are finding themselves in lobbies with just one other player due to the lack of people.

Disappointed fans have reached out to Microsoft for refunds and they're having no trouble getting their money back. Call of Duty on PC has never been massive, but it always has an active group of players keeping the game somewhat alive. It seems that Activision splitting the players and the negativity surrounding the game has caused the game to be dead on arrival over on PC. It'll be interesting to see if Activision or Microsoft reverse this decision so all players can play together to keep everyone happy.

It's also worth noting that Infinite Warfare's sales in the UK are nearly half of 2015's Black Ops 3's sales, which is not a good sign for a follow-up game in a massive franchise.

We recently reviewed both Infinite Warfare and Modern Warfare Remastered and felt (mostly) positive on both games. You can read both reviews by clicking here for Infinite Warfare and here for Modern Warfare Remastered.

http://www.gamezone.com/news/microsoft-is-refunding-call-of-duty-infinite-warfare-pc-players-because-no-one-is-playing-it-3445203

I have no idea who's idea it was to seperate players between the Windows Store and Steam, but they might as well have not sold the game on the Windows Store.

Why would either of them shoot themselves in the foot like that?

Why would anyone think that would be a good idea? I'd love to know if this was an Activision or a Microsoft decision.

those 5 people who accidentally bought the game on the windows store instead of steam... learning experience for them I guess lol

"Those who opted to purchase from the Windows Store found a pretty big surprise. They can only play with other people who bought the game from the Windows Store, and for those unaware, not many people really buy games off of the Windows Store."

"Activision split the player base significantly by separating Windows and Steam players and many Windows players are ticked off because they have no one to play with and can't play with their friends on Steam. Players are finding themselves in lobbies with just one other player due to the lack of people."

Holy fudge... thats crazy.

Too few people bought the game from the Windows store to support a community... so you cant even enjoy it online. Wow....

Lesson learnt : dont buy from the windows store.

loll that's too funny xD

I dont know who thought this was a good idea, but I'm leaning towards that this might have been MS decision to push gamers to use their Windows store instead. And if it truly was MS's decision then let's hope they learned their lesson; nobody uses Windows store.

Those that purchase via Window store, can you also play your bought copy on the XB1 as well? I'm still unclear about the whole Windows gaming circle. I just can't see why gamers would choose the Windows store over Steam unless MS gave a really good deal in their store.

This is a pretty damming issue. The steam community won't be that active or big as it is so the windows community must be tiny.

Wait so PC players are separated depending on which store you purchase from?

That's a slap in the face.

Well, maybe they both shot one another in the... foot.

The only winner here is Steam ... I wonder if Steam has something to do with this event.
I mean, isolating buyers from Windows Store is a movement that benefits Steam since steam userbase is "ok" but Windows store userbase is "Almost non-existent"...Clearly sends the message, "this game must be bought in Steam"