Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023 video game)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is a 2023 first-person shooter game developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. It is the twentieth installment of the Call of Duty series and is the third entry in the rebooted Modern Warfare sub-series, following Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022). The game was released on November 10, 2023, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Modern Warfare III retains the realistic, modern setting of its predecessors and continues the sub-series storyline. The story follows multi-national special operations unit Task Force 141 tracking down Vladimir Makarov, a Russian ultranationalist and terrorist planning to trigger a third World War. The game's multiplayer includes sixteen remastered maps from 2009's Modern Warfare 2, with at least twelve new maps planned for inclusion post-launch. A Zombies mode, co-created by Black Ops sub-series developer Treyarch and built around an open world player versus environment experience, is also included.

After wrapping development on Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021), Sledgehammer Games were reportedly assigned by Activision to develop an expansion pack for Modern Warfare II, which changed to a full, standalone release in the Call of Duty series. After a series of leaks in early-to-mid 2023, the game was officially revealed in August 2023, with a showcase event and public beta also taking place in October. Upon release, Modern Warfare III received mixed reviews, with criticism for its campaign mode.

Gameplay


Modern Warfare III features similar gameplay to its predecessor and other games in the Call of Duty series. The game's single player campaign features a mixture of linear missions, and open-world missions known as "Open Combat Missions". In these missions, players have greater freedom to choose how they want to approach designated objectives, choosing between open combat to stealth and ambush tactics. Players have access to an on-screen map of the area, including a tactical map that outlines objectives and usual equipment, with caches of weapons, gear and specialized equipment on hand. Enemies react accordingly during such missions, searching for players if they lose sight of them, and calling in reinforcements as their numbers decrease in combat.

In Multiplayer, all sixteen maps from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) are available to play on, with the added ability to vote for maps while in a matchmade lobby (which was absent in some recent titles), and increased player health for longer "time-to-kill" (TTK). The "red dot" minimap that was absent in Modern Warfare (2019) and Modern Warfare II also returns, allowing players to see enemies on their radar when they fire a weapon without a suppressor. In addition, players are also able to cancel sliding animations (i.e "slide cancel"). Classic game modes such as "Kill Confirmed" and "Hardpoint" return alongside a new game mode titled "Cutthroat", where three teams of three players go head to head. Players can also engage in the 32v32 "Ground War" mode with a selection of dedicated maps, as well as the "War" mode, returning from 2017's Call of Duty: WWII. The game features moderation powered by artificial intelligence, listening in on in-game interactions and immediately reporting any overly-toxic behavior. At least twelve new 6v6 multiplayer maps have been confirmed to release post-launch, while fan-favorite Modern Warfare II maps will also be added every season.

An open world player versus environment (PvE) Zombies mode, developed by Treyarch in collaboration with Sledgehammer Games, is also included in the game. The game mode is structured similarly to the DMZ mode in Call of Duty: Warzone, rather than the round-based survival experience from older Zombies modes. Up to 24 players play together as separate squads in a large-sized map, which is also used as the new battle royale map for Warzone. Each team can tackle zombies, as well as AI-controlled human enemies, to complete objectives around the map, as well as collect loot and sell them at buy stations, or extract them via exfiltration. In place of rounds, the map is divided into "zones", with varying levels of threat indicating the difficulty. After 45 minutes of in-match time, an "Aether Storm" begins to expand and cover the map, leaving players with 15 minutes to exfil with their loot. Core mechanics from previous Zombies modes return, such as weapon wallbuys, Perk-a-Cola drinks, and the Mystery Box. Players can also extract "acquisitions", which are items that can be stored or brought into subsequent matches for use, or "schematics", which allow them to craft said items, with a cooldown limit. Story quests are also featured in the mode, which further progress the narrative.

Characters and settings
Modern Warfare IIIs campaign takes place several months after the events of Modern Warfare IIs post-launch seasons, and features a number of fictional locations introduced in previous Modern Warfare games, including the city of Verdansk, Kastovia, and the country of Urzikstan. The game's primary antagonist is ultranationalist terrorist Vladimir Makarov (Julian Kostov), the commander of the Russian private military company Konni Group; his appearance was first teased at the end of Modern Warfare II's campaign. Task Force 141 returns as the central protagonists, comprising: SAS Captain John Price (Barry Sloane), Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley (Samuel Roukin), Sergeant Kyle "Gaz" Garrick (Elliot Knight), and Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish (Neil Ellice). Also returning from previous Modern Warfare games are: CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell (Rya Kihlstedt), Urzikstan Liberation Force Commander Farah Karim (Claudia Doumit), former CIA officer and ULF second-in-command Alex Keller (Chad Michael Collins), Chimera PMC leader Nikolai (Stefan Kapičić), United States Army General Herschel Shepherd (Glenn Morshower), and Shadow Company PMC Commander Phillip Graves (Warren Kole). New characters include: Andrei Nolan (Nikolai Nikolaeff) and Ivan Alexxeve (Lev Gorn), Konni operatives working for Makarov; Milena Romanova (Tina Ivlev), the financier of Konni Group; and Yuri Volkov (Raphael Corkhill), a Russian colonel who is acquainted with Laswell and Nikolai.

The Zombies story takes place in the city of Zaravan, Urzikstan in 2021, several months after the events of Modern Warfare (2019) and its post-launch seasons, and nearly 40 years after the events of Black Ops Cold War. Players take on the role of operators working for Operation Deadbolt, a CIA contingency plan formed to combat and contain the undead outbreak in Zaravan. In addition to Soap, Laswell and the operators, members of Deadbolt include: Special Security Officer Selma Greene (Debra Wilson), de facto commander of Deadbolt; Specialist Sergei Ravenov (Andrew Morgado), a former Spetsnaz captain who allied with the CIA task force Requiem to thwart zombie incursions during the Cold War; Captain Amy Fang (Erika Ishii), who handles infiltration and exfiltration for Deadbolt operators; Drone Pilot Lucas "Luke" Dobbs (Noshir Dalal), who provides mission reconnaissance for the operators; Quartermaster Corporal Krystal Miller (Salli Saffioti), who handles requisitions for the operation; Chief Mechanic Color Sergeant Rupinder "Roops" Kapoor (Rahul Kohli), who provides mechanical expertise on vehicle systems employed by the operators in the field; and Doctor Hugo Barrera (Antony Del Rio), a researcher who studies various Dark Aether phenomena. Opposing Deadbolt operators is the private military company Terminus Outcomes, led by ex-NZDF operative Jack Fletcher (Luke Cook), working on behalf of Victor Zakhaev (Dave B. Mitchell), a Russian ultranationalist arms dealer who was thought to have died in Verdansk. Another central character in the story is Doctor Ava Jansen (Denise Hoey), an Aetherium researcher who was employed by Zakhaev before she defected to join Deadbolt. The former members of Requiem: Grigori Weaver, Elizabeth Grey (Amy Pemberton), Oskar Strauss, and Mackenzie Carver, appear in limited or non-speaking roles.

Campaign
In November 2023, operatives working for the Russian private military company Konni Group raid the Zordaya Prison Complex in Verdansk, Kastovia. There, they locate and free their commander, Vladimir Makarov, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment at the complex following his capture by SAS operatives John "Soap" MacTavish and John Price during a terrorist attack at the Verdansk Stadium in April 2019. Hours later, Konni assaults a port in Urzikstan, where the Urzikstan Liberation Force, led by Farah Karim and ex-CIA officer Alex Keller, was planning to obtain ballistic missiles from the American PMC Shadow Company and their commander, Phillip Graves, who faked his death after his encounter with special forces unit Task Force 141 in Las Almas, Mexico. The missiles are stolen, though Farah manages to place trackers on them.

Having learned of Makarov's escape from CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell, Price leads 141 to an abandoned nuclear power plant to prevent Konni from securing nuclear material left behind following the death of General Roman Barkov. They find, however, that the plant is actually carrying leftover chemical materials that Barkov had hidden within and that Makarov plans to refine it into a deadly chemical weapon. Konni escapes with the material, detonating some to thwart 141's efforts and nearly killing Price in the resultant chemical gas it creates.

To determine Makarov's plans, Laswell infiltrates the Arklov Military Base in Verdansk and meets with Colonel Yuri Volkov, who supplies a flash drive containing information on the chemical weapons Barkov had been producing. Laswell leaves with the information, moments into an attack on the base with the stolen missiles. Meanwhile, Makarov has a Kastovian airliner destroyed, using a vest bomb forced onto a former ULF fighter who was traveling aboard. To prevent an escalation of tensions between the East and West, Farah and Alex swiftly remove any evidence of ULF involvement at the plane's crash site in Urzikstan before local authorities arrive, despite Konni's efforts to prevent this.

In wake of the attacks, Price reluctantly accepts assistance from Graves and General Herschel Shepherd, who is seeking to return to the United States after being forced into hiding, when they both make contact with Laswell; through their intel, Soap and Simon "Ghost" Riley locate and interrogate Makarov's financier, Milena Romanova. Price and Kyle "Gaz" Garrick use Romanova's information and deploy in Saint Petersburg, where they apprehend Konni operative Andrei Nolan, leading them to intercept a convoy moving across Siberia to a former Soviet prison. Price is shocked to find that the convoy's cargo is Shepherd, who had been captured by Makarov, and decides to give him an ultimatum – either give 141 all of his intel on Makarov's plans and agree to testify to his actions before the United States Congress, or be left to freeze to death in Siberia. Shepherd agrees, revealing that Makarov plans to destroy the Gora Dam in Verdansk to flood the city and kill its populace.

While Soap and Ghost lead a task force to prevent Konni from destroying the Gora Dam, Farah, Alex, Price, and Gaz lead an assault on a Konni base in Urzikstan, reluctantly accepting aid from Graves and Shadow Company. After resolving both issues, Shepherd and Graves return to the United States and testify to Congress about their actions, while effectively turning on each other during questioning. Meanwhile, 141 returns to London to continue their pursuit of Makarov. Shadowing a Konni contact, the group discovers Makarov has received a flash drive that can allow him control of the UK's train network, and that he intends to destroy the Channel Tunnel. Backed up by a counter-terrorism unit, Price leads the assault to free hostages and stop Makarov. He and Soap locate a dirty bomb in the tunnel and attempt to defuse it, but are ambushed by Makarov, who tries to execute Price. Soap manages to intervene, but is killed by Makarov, who escapes. Ghost and Gaz arrive with reinforcements and help Price defuse the bomb. Afterwards, Price, Gaz, and Ghost scatter Soap's ashes off a cliff in Scotland while honoring his memories.

In a mid-credits scene, Price, with Laswell's aid, infiltrates Shepherd's office and assassinates him for his actions in Mexico.

Zombies
In 2021, arms dealer Victor Zakhaev leads an assault on police forces in Zaravan, Urzikstan with the assistance of ex-NZDF operative Jack Fletcher and his PMC, Terminus Outcomes. After killing several officers, Zakhaev and Fletcher breach the subterranean level of a nearby hotel, where they recover two vials filled with a substance of extradimensional origin, named "Aetherium". As Zakhaev and Fletcher prepare to exfil, they are intercepted by police reinforcements, who kill most of their men. Zakhaev throws one of the vials at the officers before fleeing the area with Fletcher in an armored vehicle; the resulting blast stuns the police and transforms the dead into zombies. Weeks later, as part of Operation Deadbolt – a CIA contingency plan formed to combat and contain the undead threat, Soap and ex-Spetsnaz captain Sergei Ravenov, alongside a strike team of elite operators, are sent by Laswell and SSO Selma Greene to assess the situation and ensure that nothing is able to escape from the Zaravan exclusion zone.

Shortly after establishing their foothold, Deadbolt finds an encrypted message from Doctor Ava Jansen, a physicist who specializes in researching Aetherium. Jansen, who was previously employed by Zakhaev, requests Deadbolt's help in extracting her from Zaravan. The Deadbolt strike team is deployed to help her exfil. Upon returning to Deadbolt HQ, Jansen is interrogated by Greene, Soap, and Ravenov. The former claims that Zakhaev currently possesses weapons-grade Aetherium, and only she knows how to stop him. Greene accepts Jansen's offer, and assigns the strike team with helping her build an Aetherium Neutralizer device, which is capable of destabilizing Aetherium crystals within its blast radius. Though the first test on raw Aetherium crystals was successful, Jansen points out that Zakhaev has managed to refine his Aetherium, requiring the Neutralizer to be upgraded before it can be deployed against Terminus. She proposes they acquire research data from late scientist Oskar Strauss, a former lead of the classified task force Requiem, to upgrade the Neutralizer. The strike team launches an assault on a Terminus fortress in Zaravan, and kills its commander "Legacy" Baranov, who was in possession of Strauss' research data.

With the Neutralizer complete and ready for use against Zakhaev, Deadbolt deploys to Zakhaev's Aetherium refining plant and prepares to activate the Neutralizer, but faces opposition from Terminus forces as well as a gigantic Dark Aether worm creature, Orcus. After a lengthy battle, Jansen rushes to the Neutralizer and activates it, killing Orcus and destabilizing Zakhaev's vial. A Dark Aether vortex appears, sucking up everything in its wake and forcing Fletcher to retreat from the plant with Zakhaev. The vortex lifts Jansen into the air and an entity appears before her, demanding entry. Jansen screams and faints, floating down to the ground as the vortex closes. Ravenov quickly rushes to help Jansen as she opens her eyes, revealing a brief dark purple glow. Afterwards, Deadbolt drone pilot Lucas "Luke" Dobbs informs Ravenov that although the initial activation of the Neutralizer was a success, Dark Aether contacts are beginning to reappear across Zaravan, along with an energy spike appearing in the "high threat" zone.

Following his failure to defeat Deadbolt, Zakhaev retreats from Zaravan, leaving Terminus Outcomes to operate independently. Meanwhile, shortly after the incident with the Neutralizer, the Deadbolt strike team is deployed to Zaravan once more to investigate a new anomaly. They discover a rift portal that takes them into the Dark Aether dimension. After a brief encounter with the same entity that Jansen previously met, the team exfils from the dimension. Back at Deadbolt HQ, Jansen suffers from a hallucination while researching about a Requiem-backed project, codenamed "Janus", and all the individuals involved, including the former leads of Requiem and ex-BND operative Samantha Maxis, who had seemingly sacrificed herself in 1985 to contain a powerful Dark Aether entity, known as "the Forsaken".

Some time later, a second rift appears in Zaravan, and the strike team and Ravenov enter it in pursuit of a Terminus squad led by Fletcher. Inside, the Terminus and Deadbolt forces are forced to work together to survive. They find parts of Jansen's Neutralizer left behind after its activation, and use it to open a rift to return home. Fletcher betrays his soldiers and uses an Aetherium vial to turn them into zombies to facilitate his own escape. Ravenov and the strike team clear the area and also manage to depart. As he tends to his wounds, Ravenov is confronted by Jansen, who demands him to explain his affiliation with Requiem. Ravenov tells Jansen that Requiem attempted, but failed, to rescue Maxis from the Dark Aether following her sacrifice, and promises to tell her more about Requiem after dealing with the Zaravan outbreak. As Jansen leaves, Ravenov privately remarks that her parents would be proud of her.

As the Entity continues to influence Jansen, she is eventually lured into the Dark Aether, forcing Ravenov and the strike team to follow her. Entering a newly appeared rift in Zaravan, they pursue Jansen, who becomes possessed by the Entity. The strike team weakens the Entity by breaking various seals around the area, and killing the zombie horde defending it. The Entity ultimately disappears, and the team manages to extract Jansen to safety. Later, Ravenov reprimands Jansen for blindly pursuing Elizabeth Grey's research. He decides to show her a recording of Grey from 1996, which reveals that Jansen is the biological daughter of Maxis, and Grey gave birth to her via surrogacy, using DNA samples of Maxis and Ravenov. Due to Maxis' exposure to the Dark Aether, Jansen was born with a strong bond to the dimension, and the Entity was a dark reflection of Jansen born at the same time as her. Angered at the revelation, Jansen scolds Ravenov for lying to her before storming off once more.

Multiplayer/Warzone
In December 2023, Nolan escapes captivity, and resumes his duties as Konni's second-in-command. He rallies Konni forces to Zaravan, Urzikstan for a new operation. In response, Graves sends Shadow Company operatives and other independent contractors to Zaravan to conduct missions against Konni.

In February 2024, Konni forces occupy a Mediterranean island, known as "Fortune's Keep", and set up a research facility underneath its surface. However, an earthquake occurs, destroying parts of the island and forcing Konni to undertake repairs. Some time later, Konni expands their operations to Rebirth Island, a former Nova 6 production facility once helmed by the Soviet spy organization Perseus.

In a flashback to May 22, 2022, Soap is deployed to Zaravan as part of a secret operation to secure a chemical bomb threat. He is unable to stop the bombs from detonating and is infected, later revealed that additional bombs are also deployed globally, including Tokyo and Paris.

Development
Modern Warfare III was developed by Sledgehammer Games, and is the fifth mainline Call of Duty title that the studio has worked on, after co-creating 2011's Modern Warfare 3 with Infinity Ward and developing 2014's Advanced Warfare, 2017's WWII and 2021's Vanguard.

After wrapping development on Vanguard, Sledgehammer Games reportedly began early work on a sequel to Advanced Warfare, but Activision chose to shelve the project before it could get far into production; instead, Activision assigned the studio to create an expansion pack for the then-upcoming Modern Warfare II (2022). According to Bloombergs Jason Schreier, the expansion was originally intended to feature a new, smaller-scale single-player campaign, which was planned to be set in Mexico, along with new content for Modern Warfare IIs multiplayer component.

By Summer 2022, however, Activision chose to reboot the project entirely, tasking Sledgehammer Games with creating a direct, fully-fledged sequel to Modern Warfare II that would feature a rebooted version of original Modern Warfare trilogy antagonist Vladimir Makarov. This decision reportedly left the studio's developers with roughly sixteen months to develop Modern Warfare III, which was a similar schedule to what they faced when developing Vanguard. Treyarch, the lead developer behind the Black Ops sub-series, were also tasked with creating a Zombies mode for Modern Warfare III, making it the first Modern Warfare title to feature a Zombies mode.

In another report from Schreier, some developers at Sledgehammer Games claimed that they had initially not been made aware of the decision to turn the project into a full release, leading to crunch. In addition, certain developers were also frustrated with executives at Infinity Ward, who had reportedly stepped in at numerous times during development to make significant (and sometimes unwanted) changes to the project. Aaron Halon, Sledgehammer Games' studio head, has publicly denied Schreier's reporting, stating that plans for the game began "long before we wrapped up our previous game" and that Modern Warfare III was "a labor of love" that had been "years in the making".

Leaks
A large amount of content for Modern Warfare III was leaked before being officially revealed. Around July 17, 2023, the "red dot" minimap, War mode, and new perks were leaked from an internal alpha build. On July 24, 2023, the game's key art was leaked in a Monster Energy promotion, featuring an image of Captain Price behind the Modern Warfare III logo. Around the time of the key art leak, several new weapons were datamined. The key art leak was confirmed real by Activision, who issued copyright takedowns and acknowledged the leak via Twitter with sarcastic tweets.

Music
Walter Mair composed the score for Modern Warfare III, following Sarah Schachner's departure from the rebooted Modern Warfare sub-series over challenges in the working dynamic with Infinity Ward's audio director. Mair has previously worked with the Call of Duty franchise on Call of Duty: Mobile. In addition to Mair's score, Modern Warfare III also features a Zombies score composed by Jack Wall, who frequently partners with Treyarch on the Black Ops sub-series. Additional music was composed by Steve Ouimette, who previously worked on Modern Warfare II season 2's soundtrack.

The soundtrack for Modern Warfare III was released to digital platforms simultaneously with the game's release on November 10, 2023. In addition, rapper 21 Savage released a song in promotion of the game, titled "Call Me Revenge", featuring singer d4vd. The song is featured in the game's credits sequence.

The score for Modern Warfare III was nominated for the Best Original Video Game Score Ivor Novello Award on 23 May 2024.

Marketing
On August 7, 2023, a teaser trailer was posted, confirming the title. Around this time, a phone number was set up by Activision that was shared via social media. This phone number, after participants agreed to a few terms, would begin sending anonymous messages to participants, such as "we need someone like you, with experience in Al Mazrah." This phone number was noted to give unusual responses when sent the word "zombies" or the names of multiplayer maps from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (ex. "Rust"). A day later, on August 8, 2023, Activision confirmed that Modern Warfare II operators, weapons and cosmetic items would carry over into Modern Warfare III and released a blog post detailing the specifics of the carry-over.

On August 17, 2023, a full reveal took place inside of a Call of Duty: Warzone event and concluded with a reveal trailer. Pre-orders were also opened, with players being able to play the campaign up to a week early, as well as gain access to new operator skins and an open beta for the multiplayer mode.

Modern Warfare III was released on November 10, 2023, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Similar to Modern Warfare II, the campaign was released in early access for all digital pre-orders, starting from November 2, 2023.

Post-launch promotion
As with previous Call of Duty titles, Modern Warfare III features free seasonal content updates with an in-game store selling cosmetic item bundles via microtransactions.

Similar to past Call of Duty season updates, Activision partners with several media franchises to feature celebrities and licensed characters in the playable roster for multiplayer and Zombies modes. New additions include: Paul Atreides and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen from the film Dune: Part Two; A-Train and Firecracker from Amazon Prime Video's The Boys TV series; Rick Grimes and Michonne from AMC's The Walking Dead TV series; the comedy duo Cheech & Chong; basketball player Devin Booker; and WWE wrestlers Rhea Ripley, Cody Rhodes and Rey Mysterio. Additional themed cosmetic packs were also released in promotion of the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, the MonsterVerse film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the Gundam franchise, and the Fallout franchise.

Reception
The pre-release reviews of Modern Warfare III's campaign were negative, with critics highlighting that it felt shallow, short, and rushed. IGN gave the campaign a 4/10, describing it as "bizarrely cobbling together pieces of the Warzone mode into actively bad sandbox missions".

Upon the game's official release, it received "mixed or average reviews" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic, with 13% of critics recommending the game on aggregator OpenCritic. It is the lowest-rated mainline Call of Duty installment on Metacritic.

Bleacher Report called the campaign "disappointing", but praised the technical aspects as "top notch". Both The Guardian and Windows Central gave the game a 4 out of 5 star rating and particularly praised the multiplayer component, with the latter stating that it "perfectly executes blending old maps with modern gameplay."

Sales
In the United Kingdom, Modern Warfare III topped the sales charts for the month of November 2023. However, sales figures were reported to be around 38% down from Modern Warfare II's figures during the first three weeks of its launch. In the United States, Modern Warfare III was the second overall best-selling game of 2023, behind Hogwarts Legacy. In Japan, the PlayStation 5 version of Modern Warfare III was the fourth best-selling retail game during its first week of release, with 22,132 physical copies being sold.