Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is the direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ll. Players will experience a rich and immersive campaign with unprecedented player choice, picking up directly after Modern Warfare ll, all-new open world Zombies set on the largest Call of Duty Zombies map ever, and one of the greatest collections of Modern Warfare multiplayer maps ever assembled – both fan favorites and all new ones.

Get ready for an all-new Campaign that continues the story immediately following the events of Modern Warfare II. Lead developer Sledgehammer Games, in partnership with Infinity Ward is set to deliver a full Campaign of action-packed operations ranging from signature, cinematic experiences to free-form Open Combat Missions, resulting in more player choice than ever before.

Expect a world-class Multiplayer experience celebrating the Modern Warfare series’ greatest legacies; all 16 launch maps from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) have been modernized with new modes and gameplay features and will be available at launch to get everyone started, while over 12 all-new core 6v6 maps will fuel post-launch live seasons.

For the first time, team up with other squads to survive and fight massive hordes of the undead in the largest Call of Duty Zombies map ever. Modern Warfare Zombies (MWZ) tells a new Zombies story from developer Treyarch, with missions, core Zombies features, and a host of secrets to discover.

In the direct sequel to Modern Warfare II, Captain Price, and Task Force 141 face off against the ultimate threat. The ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov is extending his grasp across the world, causing Task Force 141 to fight like never before.

Combat means making decisions; using different Loadouts and planning different paths through every operation across an involved and thrilling Campaign. In addition to the signature, cinematic Call of Duty missions, Modern Warfare III introduces Open Combat Missions, with even greater emphasis on player choice. Naturally, you’ll have the use of all the weapons, equipment, and tactics present in an action-packed Modern Warfare single-player experience, but for some of your engagements, it is completely up to you to decide on an appropriate course of action.

Open Combat Missions (OCMs) are an exciting innovation to the Call of Duty Campaign. Not only do these complement the cinematic missions you’ve come to expect, but they also provide you with numerous additional choices regarding your methods of mission completion. For example, if you prefer to use stealth techniques, you may wish to undertake an OCM with a lights-out approach, using night-vision goggles and suppressed weapons and complete your objectives without your adversaries knowing you were even there. However, if loud explosions and reckless abandon are part of your repertoire, strap extra armor plates onto your torso and hit those targets head-on!

Feel free to take advantage of any operable vehicles within your area of operations. You’re able to experiment with and leverage tactical and lethal equipment. You have the flexibility to maneuver across the sizable landscape of a mission’s AO and approach objectives from multiple angles. You can truly play how you want to play, and Open Combat Missions will support it.

With just one day away from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Campaign early access, we are sharing all the details and to get a preview on the rewards fans can earn for completing the Campaign, plus an in-depth guide on the brand-new Open Combat missions.

Aside from revealing the number of Campaign Missions, the following information is considered spoiler-free.

The Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III Campaign is a direct continuation of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II narrative, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. The ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov is back on the scene, extending his grasp across the world.

From COD HQ, head to the Modern Warfare III section and select the Campaign tile. Even though the game has already launched, we don’t want to spoil anything about it. Follow the prompts when starting the Campaign to choose your difficulty setting and then get right to it. The game will tell you everything you need to know to get started. Prepare for a wild ride.

CHOOSE YOUR DIFFICULTY LEVEL

The Modern Warfare III Campaign features four difficulty levels. The higher the difficulty level, the greater the challenge. Note that you can change the game’s difficulty level at any time.

• Recruit: For players who are new to Call of Duty.
• Regular: Your abilities in combat will be tested.
• Hardened: Your skills will be strained.
• Veteran: You will not survive.

CAMPAIGN MISSION REWARDS

The Campaign consists of 14 different missions. All but one of these missions reward players with the following items upon completion:

• Operation 627: “Breather” Calling Card
• Precious Cargo: 30 mins Double Player XP Token & 30 mins Double Weapon XP Token
• Reactor: “Corso” Operator
• Payload: “Ghillie Guy” Calling Card
• Deep Cover: 30 mins XP Token and 30 mins Weapon XP Token
• Passenger: N/A
• Crash Site: “Pathfinder” Operator
• Flashpoint: “Toxic Drip” Calling Card
• Oligarch: 1 hour Double Player XP Token and 1 hour Double Weapon XP Token
• Highrise: “Doc” Operator
• Frozen Tundra: “Skull Rhapsody” Calling Card
• Gora Dam: 1 hour Double Player XP Token and 1 hour Double Weapon XP Token
• Danger Close: “Jabber” Operator
• Trojan Horse: Campaign Completion Emblem and Weapon Blueprint

OPEN COMBAT MISSIONS

Modern Warfare III introduces Open Combat Missions (OCMs), which occur throughout the Campaign alongside more traditional single-player missions. OCMs redefine player agency, offering an unparalleled degree of freedom and greatly expanding the playable area.

// INTEL CARD

• MWIII
• WZ
• WZM

OPEN COMBAT MISSIONS

// Getting Started // Training

Fixed objective, endless possibilities: You’re there to complete the mission, but how you do it is up to you. Slip through like a shadow or go in loud and start blasting. Scavenge extra gear throughout the AO to suit your preferred playstyle.

Seek out essential gear: While seeking out new weapons, Armor Plates, and other items, keep your eyes peeled for Ziplines and Ascenders. Often near objective locations, these items skyrocket your movement potential across the map.

But they were just here: Caught off guard and outnumbered? Retreat into the environment, using your Ascender and Parachute to quickly get out of view. If the enemy loses sight of you for long enough, they will eventually stop their direct pursuit, and resort to searching the vicinity for you.

YOUR OPERATOR

Open Combat Missions require the best of the best. In each mission, you will deploy as a designated member of Task Force 141: Farah, Ghost, Gaz, Soap, or Price.

In your first playthrough of an OCM, your Operator is assigned a starting Loadout according to the mission’s narrative, including the Spotter Scope to better scan the environment for enemy threats, tagging enemies, locating equipment, and discovering information about points of interest. One of your first tasks is to seek out better gear, of which there is an abundance, found throughout the area of operations.

GEAR UP

Expect to find all sorts of useful items in OCMs, including new weapons, Equipment, Field Upgrades, and even Armaments (that Multiplayer Operators know as “Killstreaks”) that will boost your offensive and defensive capabilities. Of particular importance, however, are the Parachute, Ascender, and Armor Plate Carrier upgrades.

• Parachute: The Parachute is a game changer, allowing you to safely jump from great heights and soar over long distances. Follow the button prompt when jumping from a high point to activate the Parachute. When you’re close to landing, your Operator will automatically cut the rope and return to a standing position, or you can cut the cord manually to force a landing.
• Ascender: Going up! The Ascender helps you reach the highest points on the map. With this item, you can zip up ropes that lead to places in key positions throughout the environment, or ziplines to move across long horizontal distances. Use your elevated or newly-acquired position to escape a problematic situation, snipe from a distance, or, if you’ve got the Parachute, reposition far from your current location.
• Plate Carrier Upgrade Vest: Initially, your Operator can only equip one Armor Plate at a time, a reasonable-enough defense in minor battles but lacking when the action gets hectic. Find a Plate Carrier Upgrade Vest to increase the number of Armor Plates you can equip at a time. When you first find the Vest, your carrying capacity will increase to two Armor Plates, and then three after finding another one. Now you’re ready for anything.

GETTING AROUND: YOUR TAC MAP AND MINIMAP

Tac Map

The Tac Map is of essential importance, providing an overview of the objective and its location. A legend indicates the position of important items, and a tracker shows your most important gear and the weapons and items you’ve discovered in the level.

When first deploying into an OCM, the majority of the Tac Map will be covered in a fog of war. As you explore the environment, the fog will be lifted, revealing greater environmental detail.

Minimap

Use the minimap to pinpoint items in your immediate surroundings without needing to pull up your Tac Map. Discovered weapons, Supply Boxes, Field Upgrades, and other Armaments will be displayed here along with the objective location and other points of interest.

Enemy Alert Levels: The minimap is also your cue to the enemy’s current alert level. When you’ve been seen, the borders will turn yellow, indicating that they are aware of something in the vicinity without knowing your exact location. If found — or if you initiate the attack — the borders will turn red to show that they know where you are. At this time, an enemy may even throw the alarm to call in reinforcements.

The enemies themselves also follow this color-coded system. Red dots on the minimap indicate enemies rushing to engage in combat, while yellow dots represent enemies on the lookout.

With fast movement and clever repositioning, it’s possible to get out of the alert state. Red will revert to yellow when they’ve lost you but are still on guard for your whereabouts, and then will return to a less aggressive state  if you continue to remain out of sight. At this point, you can resume your stealth operations, or just get into a better position before going guns blazing again.

Play It Again

OCMs reward exploration and repeated playthroughs with weapons and items found throughout the level. When you replay an OCM, you get to customize your starting Loadout based on the weapons and items you’ve found in previous playthroughs.

Start the mission with your Parachute and Ascender already in hand, plus any extra Armor Plate carrying capacity earned through Vests. Use your enhanced starting gear to push into higher difficulty levels and/or try out new tactics.

TOP 5 TIPS FOR OPEN COMBAT MISSIONS

1. There’s always another way. Grab a vehicle and race past the sentries straight to the objective; dive into the water and reposition out of sight; use your Parachute to soar over enemy encampments. OCMs offer endless possibilities in how you approach the task at hand. If something’s not working, revisit your tactics and take a new approach.
2. The right gear for the job. While at first, you’ll need to make do with the gear you’re provided, with enough exploration and scavenging, you’ll soon a wider variety of equipment that can best suit your style of play. If you’re going stealth, Throwing Knives and a Recon Drone are better choices than Frag Grenades and unsuppressed weapons and vice versa.
3. Know your enemy. Even if you’re not going the stealth route, it pays to stay out of sight and scout nearby enemy positions. Look for red vehicles on the minimap indicating enemy patrols, and scan the horizon for snipers and other threats you might miss when rushing straight in. Regardless of your approach, that intel will help you make better decisions in the heat of the moment.
4. Build up your arsenal. OCMs encourage replayability through the accumulation of weapons and items found in the level. Use your arsenal to build out the perfect Loadout on subsequent playthroughs and get right to the task at hand without first needing to scavenge for the proper supplies.
5. Ramp up the challenge. Use your expanded arsenal on subsequent playthroughs to push into higher difficulty levels. Tackling an OCM on Veteran is much more manageable when deploying with your preferred Loadout.

Modern Warfare III celebrates the 20th anniversary of Call of Duty with one of the greatest collections of Modern Warfare Multiplayer maps ever assembled.

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

All 16 launch maps from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) have been modernized, both graphically and with meticulous attention given to the authenticity and aspects of the maps that made them so popular. Veteran players love these Core 6v6 maps, and there’s no better time to introduce a generation of new players to experience the community’s favorite Modern Warfare content.

Prepare for seminal design to meet modern gameplay. This faithful modernization of the maps keeps their authenticity intact while infusing the latest tech, gameplay, modes, content, and more. Though you might have noticed elements of Terminal and Highrise during your time in Al Mazrah, the Modern Warfare III versions of these maps are built from scratch from the original 2009 designs.

In addition to brand-new modes like Cutthroat (a competitive 3v3v3 experience), a full range of fan-favorite and innovative gameplay features will be available at launch to get everyone started, like choosing to play Hardpoint and Kill Confirmed on Favela, modes that were never part of the original map offering, providing a refreshing multiplayer experience within these familiar environments.

The 16 Core launch maps are further complemented with the addition of four huge environments ready at launch and containing a host of new play spaces. These are composed of three brand-new Battle Maps — large scale locations where Modern Warfare III’s Ground War and Invasion game modes will be fought — and a single, colossal War map, as Modern Warfare III marks the welcome return and evolution of the legendary War Mode that first debuted in 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII.

With Day One Multiplayer content featuring faithful modernizations of Modern Warfare’s fan-favorite maps, over 12 all-new core 6v6 maps will fuel post-launch live seasons.

Expect many customization advancements and new gameplay mechanics to further evolve the quintessential, fast-moving gameplay. Here are three innovations, with more to be revealed in the coming weeks:

Breach and clear with the new Tactical Stance feature, a perfect middle-ground between hip-fire and aiming down sights. When entering tight hallways and cramped rooms, toggle Tac-Stance on to improve weapon performance and win the fight. Here’s what to expect from Tac-Stance:

• The operator unshoulders the weapon and holds it in a canted firing position.
• You can toggle in and out of Tac-Stance dynamically while aiming down sights.
• Tac-Stance trades precise accuracy for improved mobility and handling.
• Some spread to your firing will occur, best described as a middle ground between full ADS and hipfire.
• It is designed to be used in aggressive, close-quarter combat situations.
• By default, you fire in Tac-Stance while Sliding.

Modern Warfare III brings new levels of customization to Create-a-Class. Get ready to build your Loadout based on cutting-edge military equipment, such as gloves, tactical vests, boots and more; allowing you to fine-tune more aspects of gameplay.

The evolution of the Gunsmith continues with the addition of After-Market Parts. This is a special set of customization options allowing you to focus on your preferred and specific playstyle. After-Market Parts enable you to construct unique weapon configurations or types such as customizing a machine gun into a bullpup configuration (with the firing grip in front of the breech rather than behind it), thus increasing mobility and handling without compromising on damage output.

After-Market Parts will also offer new progression paths, and challenges to unlock. We will be sharing more information on these innovations in the coming weeks.

The core mechanics of Modern Warfare III deliver a massive offering of classic features bringing exceptional freedom of choice, movement, and customization to gameplay.

Here are the Multiplayer features confirmed for Modern Warfare III Multiplayer, coming Day One:

• Map Voting returns, allowing players greater autonomy over their Multiplayer matches.
• Classic Minimap Behavior, with red dots indicating when an enemy is firing an unsuppressed weapon.
• All chosen Perks are available at the start of each match.
• The Covert Sneakers Perk allows for silent movement (assuming you’ve chosen the correct footwear).
• Core Multiplayer Health is increased to 150, lengthening the Time-to-Kill (TTK). Hardcore mode is not affected.

When maneuvering in Modern Warfare III Multiplayer, expect the following movement abilities in terms of your Operator’s general responsiveness:

• You can cancel Slide animations (i.e., “slide cancel”), but Slide Cancelling does not reset Tactical Sprint.
• You can cancel partial Reloads during an animation (i.e., “reload cancel”) to immediately return fire.
• Mantling is faster, and you can Mantle while Sprinting.
• You can fire during and immediately after Sliding.
• Tactical Sprint durations are increased (the exact duration depends on the weapon being used).
• Tactical Sprint recharges while Sprinting.

As discussed before, a vast amount of content and weapon progression from Modern Warfare II will come with you to Modern Warfare III. That means every Multiplayer weapon you currently have in your MWII arsenal, along with all the new weapons available in Modern Warfare III, will be accessible to use on Day One.

• The depth of choice here truly honors the player investment into Modern Warfare II.
• All MWII weapons, attachments, and unlocks will Carry Forward. There will be seamless functionality between new attachments and global Weapon Platforms.
• Any MWII attachments that were considered “universal” (such as some Muzzles) will be available to attach to MWIII weapons, where applicable.
• In certain cases, MWII weapons carried forward into MWIII will be able to utilize MWIII attachments that you unlock, where applicable.
• The number of Weapon Platforms (AKA “Receivers”) have been increased for some categories, reducing restrictions on weapon customization by allowing for core attachments to be added to your favorite MWII weapons.

For the first time, team up with other squads to survive and fight massive hordes of the undead in the largest Call of Duty Zombies map ever. Modern Warfare Zombies (MWZ) tells an involved and unearthly Dark Aether Zombies story set in the Modern Warfare universe. Expect to undertake missions across different regions that escalate in difficulty, with core Zombies features and a cavalcade of secrets to discover. Ready up for an open-world player versus enemy (PvE) extraction survival experience against some of the biggest enemies in Call of Duty history.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on Nov. 10, 2023.