Controversial Modern Warfare 2 map returns in Season 2 Reloaded

Nathan Warby
Santa Sena Border Crossing in Modern Warfare 2

Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 Reloaded has brought back one of the game’s most divisive maps, after it was quietly removed at the beginning of Season 2.

When Modern Warfare 2 arrived in November 2022, it came with a varied selection of multiplayer maps for fans to learn. These ranged from huge Ground War maps to more compact 6v6 arenas.

One map, in particular, immediately divided the community – Santa Sena Border Crossing. Players were unimpressed with its straightforward design and dozens of exploding vehicles, and it was regularly ranked as Modern Warfare 2’s worst map.

Border Crossing was then subtly removed at the start of MW2 Season 2, without any word from Infinity Ward. Now, after appearing in the 10v10 playlist, fans have noticed that the controversial map is back in 6v6 after the mid-season update

Reddit user Fox_Two666 posted to let fellow players know it had returned, saying: “Beware! Santa Sena Border Crossing is back in rotation.”

The map’s removal had led fans to speculate that the devs could be giving it an overhaul to iron out some of the issues players had with it, much like Miami from Black Ops Cold War. However, it appears to look and play exactly the same as before, leaving fans confused.

“I don’t understand why they pulled it in the first place if they weren’t going to ‘Miami’ it. Pull it and then put it back in the exact same as it was before? Why?” said one disgruntled player.

Once again, there was no mention of Border Crossing’s return in Season 2 Reloaded patch notes, so it’s unclear at the moment why it was taken out, or if anything has changed now that it’s back in Modern Warfare 2.

Players seemed to agree that the most likely reason was to fix bugs and glitches or simply to gauge how the community felt about it being removed, but nothing has been confirmed.

Despite the negative reception to the map, some players felt that cutting it from the game altogether wasn’t the solution, as map variety has been a constant complaint since MW2 arrived.

Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 Reloaded also added the new Himmelmatt Expo map, so players now have a full lineup of 15 6v6 arenas to fight on, and they’ll be hoping that even more arrive in Season 3 and beyond.

Image credit: Activision