The Wikipedia Forum – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a 2011 first-person shooter video game, jointly developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. The game was released worldwide in November 2011 for Microsoft Windows, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and OS X. It is the sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), serving as the third and final installment in the original Modern Warfare trilogy and the eighth Call of Duty installment overall. A separate version for the Nintendo DS was developed by n-Space, while Treyarch developed the game’s Wii port. In Japan, Square Enix published the game with a separate subtitled and dubbed version.
The game’s campaign follows Modern Warfare 2 and begins right after the events of its final mission. Similar to Modern Warfare 2, it is centered around Task Force 141, which contains Captain Price, Soap MacTavish, and a newly introduced playable character, Yuri. Alongside the Delta Force and Special Air Service, they hunt Vladimir Makarov (the main antagonist of the trilogy), a Russian terrorist who leads the Russian Ultranationalist party. He led several terror attacks across Europe, triggering a large-scale war between the Ultranationalists and friendly forces. For the game’s multiplayer mode, new mode types and killstreak choices were brought in. Improvements were also made to the mode that solved issues that appeared in Modern Warfare 2.
Using an enhanced version of Modern Warfare 2’s IW engine, development for the game began in 2010 with more than one developer studio. Prior to development, Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella left the company to form Respawn Entertainment. Other members had been fired or had left the company following the duo’s departure. Sledgehammer Games had joined the Modern Warfare 3 development force, with Raven Software also developing the game’s multiplayer mode. Following a large leak containing detailed information about the game, multiple teaser trailers were released, with each showcasing a location featured in the game’s campaign, leading up to a full reveal.
Modern Warfare 3 received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its gameplay, campaign, and multiplayer, although there was some criticism for its story and lack of innovation. It won the award for Best Shooter at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards. It was a massive commercial success. Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game sold 6.5 million copies in the United States and the United Kingdom and grossed $400 million, contemporaneously making it the largest entertainment launch ever.
Development Call of Duty
A 2010 Q3 earnings call from Activision confirmed that the eighth installment of the franchise was currently in development by Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software and due for release “during the back half of 2011”. This was revealed to be Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with the latter developers co-developing multiplayer. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was known to be in development after a legal dispute between Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella and Activision resulted in the pair being fired from the company. Several dozen Infinity Ward employees followed West and Zampella as a result of the ongoing dispute, causing Activision to enlist the services of Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software to assist in the development of the title. The game was said to have been in development since only two weeks after the release of their previous game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Also reported was that Sledgehammer was aiming for a “bug free” first outing in the Call of Duty franchise, and also set a goal for Metacritic review scores above 95 percent. Modern Warfare 3 utilizes the MW3 Engine, unofficially the IW 5.0 Engine. Improvements include better streaming and audio. Sledgehammer Games announced the game to be the first entry in the Modern Warfare series to have built-in support for color-blind gamers.
The Official UK PlayStation Magazine lent credence to speculation that Modern Warfare 3 would be a prequel starring fan-favorite character Ghost. The magazine’s sources strengthened a rumor which first reared its head online early in January 2011. On the Rumor Machine page in its issue (055), OPM points to “insider whispers” which suggest: “Infinity Ward’s next Modern Warfare title will be a prequel, with Ghost in the lead role.” According to PSM3, the first snippet of Modern Warfare 3 gameplay would be revealed in mid-April. According to the publication’s May 2011 issue, insider rumors say “the next in Activision’s megaton FPS series will be announced in mid-April”.
On May 13, 2011, the video game website Kotaku revealed the existence of Modern Warfare 3 following a massive leak. According to Kotaku, this leak came from multiple sources who may or may not work at Activision and Infinity Ward. The leak contained thorough information about the game, confirming that it would be a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, as well as details regarding weapons, levels, and modes found in the game. In response to the leaks, Robert Bowling tweeted “A lot of hype & a lot of leaked info on MW3, some still accurate, some not. To avoid spoiling the experience, I’d wait for the real reveal.” Just hours after the leaked assets appeared on Kotaku, four teaser trailers were released on the official Call of Duty YouTube page, separately titled “America”, “England”, “France” and “Germany”, indicating the various locales of the game.
