Joystiq reports that complaints posted on Steam, Reddit, 4chan and the Black Ops 2 forums reveal that the retail (DVD-ROM) PC version of Black Ops 2 contains installation data for Mass Effect 2, not the just-released Call of Duty shooter.
The new Call of Duty installment was launched early at 12:01am Tuesday morning at participating retailers. Anticipation for the new Black Ops title has been relatively high since its initial announcement, enough so that gamers were willing to skip sleep and stand outside in line on a cold November night early Tuesday morning. But imagine their surprise when they rushed home to play their new shooter and couldn't even install it on the hard drive.
According to the various complaints, it's Disc 2 that's causing installation problems, as this disc supposedly plays host to Mass Effect 2 installation data, not Black Ops 2. Because of this, consumers can't install the game using their physical copies, but rather must use the provided Steam code to unlock the digital version. In the end Call of Duty gamers can still install their new purchase, but they now must wait for the digital version to download and install before diving into the shootfest.
"The same thing happened to me and I just checked the files. The 7 GB file is listed as ME2_RTP and the other 2 are autorun and autorun," said one Steam forum member.
"It's a COD BO2 disc face, but it's been mastered with Disc 2 from Mass Effect 2," said another on the Black Ops 2 forums.
As one customer points out, those affected by the disc switch can't return their game to the retailer. Thus, their physical copy is utterly useless and must rely on the supplied Steam code. So far Treyarch and Activision have not acknowledged the problem, and they may not given Black Ops 2 ships with an unlockable digital version.
However the big question is this: how did an Electronic Arts game disc end up in an Activision retail package? That's what we – along with thousands of other Black Ops 2 gamers across various forums – are dying to know.
