It’s official—Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is the next game in the storied first-person shooter (FPS) franchise. Publisher Activision announced the game’s release date, supported platforms, campaign content, and more during a livestream Thursday.
Didn’t catch the reveal? Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming game.
Release details
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III will release on November 10, 2023 for Windows PCs via Battle.net and Steam, along with PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and S, and Xbox One.
Activision will hold an open beta test for the multiplayer mode ahead of the full game release, with people who pre-order the game given early access over the general public. The date for the open beta has not yet been announced.
A continuing story
In the Call of Duty timeline, Modern Warfare III will begin right after its 2022 predecessor, Modern Warfare II, making it a narrative sequel to the previous game.
Captain Price and Task Force 141 will have to continue to fight the Russian “Ultranationalist” Vladmir Makarov in Modern Warfare III’s campaign mode. This is the first time that Activision has released narratively linked games in back-to-back years, following a cycle of rotating through various Call of Duty sub-brands.
New features
In addition to its familiar narrative campaign missions, Modern Warfare III will also offer players “Open Combat Missions,” which promise more choice during play compared to the traditional campaign mode. That approach will allow players to complete objectives in multiple ways to achieve the same goal.
MW III will offer a new movement mechanic called Tac-Stance, which is designed for combat in small room environments. Players will also have larger health bars in MW III compared to previous COD titles, a move that increases enemies’ time-to-kill rate.
At the start of matches, all “perks” will be available to players. A new perk, Covert Sneakers, has been added to let players move without being heard.
Rollover content
According to Activision, “a vast amount” of Modern Warfare II content from last year’s game has been rolled over and will also exist in Modern Warfare III. It’s not only a narrative sequel to last year’s game, but also an expanded edition in some ways.
Players will be able to keep their unlocked Operator, as well as weapon content and cosmetics from the previous game in the third installment. The Hardpoint and Kill Confirmed game modes will also exist in Modern Warfare III.
The new game will also bring back classic content from the past, as updated versions of all 16 multiplayer maps from the original 2009 game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have also been upgraded for the newest entry. Those will be available on day one.
After the launch, developer Sledgehammer Games plans to add more than 12 new maps for the 6v6 player-versus-player (PVP) combat. In addition, there will be three new maps for the Ground War and Invasion game modes, plus a map that builds upon the epic “War” mode from 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII.
More Zombies
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III will also offer players the largest map in franchise history for its Zombies game mode.
Developed by Treyarch, the studio behind the Call of Duty: Black Ops sub-series, the new Zombies mode in Modern Warfare III will include missions amid the open-world player-versus-environment (PVE) framework. It will also offer the ability to pair up with other online squads against the undead attackers.