COD MW2: Does Ghost die in the MW2 2022 campaign?

Is Ghost a mere shadow now?

Image of Ghost in Call of Duty Modern Warfare II, red light is heavily weighing on the character with a skull mask visible on the screen.
Screenshot via Xbox on YouTube

Call of Duty fans are very familiar with the character of Ghost who became one of the main staple campaign characters remembered for a great deal of time. He also even had operator bundles created based on him so it is clear to understand just how special he is in the franchise.

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However, some players are wondering if Ghost dies at any point in the MW2 2022 campaign and this article will take you through that in detail.

Author note: Spoilers ahead for both installments (2009 and 2022) of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Is Ghost killed during the Modern Warfare 2 2022 campaign?

No, Ghost is not killed at any point during the campaign of Modern Warfare 2 in the 2022 release. For those like myself who have played the original MW2 in 2009, you will be thinking that this is a major paradox in every sense of the word, and who wouldn’t? As within the “Loose Ends” campaign mission, Ghost was killed in cold blood by General Shepard—who also features in the latest installments of Modern Warfare.

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The real reason why Ghost is not killed in a similar fashion during the 2022 release is because both Modern Warfare (2019) and Modern Warfare II (2022) are reboots of the original games. They are not remasters and instead are of course allowed full creative freedom in terms of the narrative direction they take.

All in all, this means that even though some characters from the original game are featured (i.e. Ghost and Captain Price), there are no ties to what those characters can do. This opens up what I believe to be exciting possibilities for the future installments of the series where it will be interesting to see how existing relationships between the Task Force 141 team evolve in the reboot era.

What is Ghost’s backstory in the CoD franchise? Explained

Image showcasing Ghost at shipping containers along with Captain Price. There is a visible blue light situated on the ground in the background.
Ghost always knows how to make an impression | Screenshot via Xbox on YouTube

Not too much is known about the backstory of Ghost throughout the games themselves but the comic books based on the character (Modern Warfare 2: Ghost) are where the juicy information resides. Unfortunately, Ghost, otherwise known as Simon Riley had a turbulent family upbringing in Manchester and witnessed many horrors and tragedies unfold by way of his own father or otherwise.

Eventually, Simon joined the military, eventually joining the S.A.S. leading him to take part in a range of operations throughout his career. Interestingly, when Ghost was assigned to track down an infamous fictional drug dealer (Manuel Roba) he was captured and then later tortured. Roba conducted the torturing and was cloaked in ghost face paint and Simon chose to take the ghost appearance for his own after he survived the ordeal. This was while he started hunting for revenge on Roba.

There were also various other times in the comics when references to the ghost persona were made. All in all, the story of Ghost is one which has a great deal of complexity and I highly recommend checking out the comic books if you enjoy the lore of the CoD franchise.

Author
Image of Gordon Bicker
Gordon Bicker
Gordon is a contributing writer for Dot Esports, Attack of the Fanboy, a Games Design (BA) Honours student, and a Video Game Ambassador. He has been writing at AOTF for two years, with four years of games writing experience for outlets like Green Man Gaming. When he's not busy, he'll no doubt be experiencing games, writing poetry, adventuring, or happily starting a new Skyrim playthrough! Gordon's favorite genres include action RPGs, MMORPG's, and First Person Shooters but is always experimenting with many other types of games.