I guess it is still there, there's just an MG gunner instead of a 2cm turret. I'm not actually sure now if that's in addition to, or instead of, the hull MG.
Point is, there's at least one functional MG without the 2cm, and it's actually pretty nice against infantry.
But my point is there's still an MG
with the 2cm as well. Pretty sure it was the exact same gun. The 221 -> 222 upgrade was always an AV upgrade with no cost opportunity aside from munitions - the 2cm can't really hit infantry, but the MG is intact and vehicle maintains the same effectiveness versus infantry.
But I think I figured what you meant on sidestepping the bug thing, but that would depend on whether the old 221's MG's stats are distinct from the 222's, which I certainly couldn't say if it was. The MG definitely fires out of the turret of both vehicles, though.
Can we focus on bug fixing/QoL changes first?
As i said before, the unit is supposed to cost 230/20. Imagine if Penals were left with their current performance and they used an old build on next patch and put them at 270mp instead of 300mp. Everyone would cry here and some people would argue that their perf is needed to make T1 relevant at all and any change should only be done with a proper revamp of the tier.
Continuing with the same example, imagine if the flamer only shoot 25% of the time because "reasons". That's how it feels when the 222 MG is not firing.
If the units (specially fuel) cost should go around 20/30 with it's current stats or should it see furthers changes it's up to debate.
That. Bugs are baaaaaaaaadddddddddddddd