Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Release Date And Everything We Know So Far

2023's new Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 3, launches very soon. It packs in a new campaign along with both multiplayer and Zombies, and its release will coincide with changes and a new map for Warzone. Here is everything we know about Modern Warfare 3.

MW3 release date and preorder details

Modern Warfare 3 releases on November 10 across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game will have a standard $70 edition and a pricey Vault edition with a number of other extras, and you can find all the preorder details here. Preordering Modern Warfare 3 will come with a few perks, including early access to the beta and seven days early access to the game's campaign.

Campaign details

The game will have a full campaign that picks up immediately where the story left off in Modern Warfare 2, and as previously teased in the first Modern Warfare 3 trailer, the campaign focuses on Vladimir Makarov, who was a main antagonist of the original Modern Warfare franchise.

Activision describes this campaign as having more player choice than ever before with "operations ranging from signature, cinematic experiences to free-form Open Combat Missions."

Open Combat Missions will give players numerous additional choices regarding their methods for completing missions. For example, choosing stealth techniques and equipment for a sneaky approach, or choosing explosive equipment and extra armor to go into a mission with guns blazing.

Players will have more open areas to complete missions with various tactics, and any vehicles in the area can be used for more player choice.

Multiplayer maps and modes

It's going to be a year of nostalgia as the 16 launch maps in Modern Warfare 3 are remastered versions of maps from 2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. These classic maps will be updated with new gameplay features and new game modes.

The maps include:

• Afghan
• Derail
• Estate
• Favela
• Karachi
• Highrise
• Invasion
• Quarry
• Rundown
• Rust
• Scrapyard
• Skidrow
• Sub Base
• Terminal
• Underpass
• Wasteland

Additionally, more than 12 new core 6v6 maps will arrive for Modern Warfare 3's post-launch seasons. There will be three battle maps available specifically for large-scale Ground War modes, and one "colossal-size" map for the objective-based War mode, which was originally introduced in Call of Duty: World War II. 2022's Modern Warfare 2 maps will also eventually come to the new MW3.

Map voting is also confirmed to return, so players will have more choice in the maps they play each match.

Perks and minimap changes

Modern Warfare 3 will bring back the classic minimap, which means that red dots will appear in the minimap when enemies fire unsuppressed weapons. In recent Call of Duty games, the minimap hasn't shown the position of enemy players if they used unsuppressed guns, and players relied more heavily on the UAV streak to get the additional map intel.

A classic perk system returns this year, and the only major difference is perks will be based on wearable gear, such as gloves, tactical vests, and boots. They do not modify an operator's appearance in-game, and instead the gear types just serve as perk categories. For example, the gloves category includes perks related to adjusting weapon and equipment handling, and boots are gear that offers perks to enhance a player's mobility options.

Massive weapon pool and Gunsmith

Call of Duty Next confirmed Modern Warfare 3 will feature over 30 weapons, and this weapon pool will include unique mastery camos to unlock. The Gunsmith customization feature returns, offering customization with attachments and detailed weapon-tuning. This year's Gunsmith adds new layers to customization with detailed weapon stats for each attachment, and the addition of new aftermarket parts that can be unlocked for greater customization.

Some confirmed weapons include:

• ACR assault rifle
• Renetti handgun
• Pulemyot light machine gun
• AMR9 submachine gun
• Riveter shotgun

Warzone

Urzikstan is the new Warzone map for Modern Warfare 3, which is an urban-type battlefield featuring 11 major points of interest. Urzikstan will be playable for both battle royale and Plunder modes, and it will join Warzone's existing Vondel and Ashika Island Resurgence maps. Additionally, a new version of Warzone Ranked will come in 2024, as will the Fortune's Keep and Rebirth Island maps in 2024. More information on Urzikstan can be found here, including new perks, movement mechanics, and changes to the Gulag.

Zombies

For the first time, Zombies mode is coming to the Modern Warfare series with Treyarch's Dark Aether storyline. This won't be traditional round-based Zombies, but instead an open-world experience with survival elements and PvE extraction.

Modern Warfare 3 Zombies takes place on Warzone's brand-new Urzikstan map. This mode can be played solo or with a squad, and players can join up with other teams as matches feature up to eight squads of three. While this is much more like a large-scale extraction mode, the map will still include core Zombies features, such as the mystery box, perk machines, Pack-a-Punch, and a new Wonder Weapon. More details on the Zombies storyline can be found here, and more details on gameplay features are listed here.

MW2 weapons and cosmetics will carry over

For the first time in Call of Duty history, weapons, operators, camos, and more will transfer over to the new game, letting you bring all of these things from Modern Warfare 2 into Modern Warfare 3. There will be a few restrictions in place, but here we break down everything you need to know about Call of Duty's "Carry Forward" content plan for Modern Warfare 3.

Call of Duty HQ

Activision has announced that Call of Duty will have one unified hub for games moving forward. Called the Call of Duty HQ, players will be able to use the hub to access Modern Warfare 2, Warzone, Modern Warfare 3, and future Call of Duty content all in one place.