Highlights
The rumored Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is facing uncertainty due to conflicting reports about the game's content and potential rushed development.
The troubled release of Black Ops Cold War in 2020 has sparked worries about the yearly release approach for Call of Duty. There is a growing perception that meeting the escalating demands and expectations of modern releases is proving to be challenging.
There are rumors circulating about the extensive scope of Modern Warfare 3, encompassing a complete campaign, multiplayer experience, and a fresh Zombies mode. However, this ambitious scale also carries the risk of an unfinished, glitch-riddled, or content-lacking launch, potentially echoing the problems encountered with Cold War.
The release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, developed by Sledgehammer Games, is strongly rumored to happen this year, although it has not been officially confirmed. This is unusual for the sub-franchise, as it typically does not have successive titles in two consecutive years. The manner in which information about the game has been disclosed is also unique, with initial reports conflicting on the gaming experience it will offer. It appears that the release has been expedited and expanded in order to provide a conclusive trilogy experience for Modern Warfare. This could potentially result in a rushed final product that competes with the launch of Cold War.
Black Ops Cold War's Buggy Launch
The launch of the 2020 Black Ops Cold War was plagued by a number of common problems, causing frustration for players. These issues affected various aspects of the game, including unwatchable campaign cutscenes due to framerate problems and multiplayer lobbies frequently disbanding or causing crashes.
In the months following its release, Treyarch worked to address and stabilize the Cold War experience through patches. However, the negative impact of the game's launch still persists. It sparked discussions about the rush to release games in the industry, as well as exposing flaws in the annual release model of the Call of Duty franchise. While this formula has traditionally been successful, the increasing scale and expectations of modern releases have made it extremely challenging for annual installments of CoD.
Modern Warfare 3's Scale and Development
The Cold War edition of Call of Duty is widely regarded as one of the most buggy releases in the franchise's history. Naturally, the developers will want to distance themselves as much as possible from this experience. However, there are concerns that the rumored development process for Modern Warfare 3 might lead to a recurrence of these same errors.
For years, it was widely believed that there would be no new installment of the mainline CoD game in 2023, which would break a longstanding tradition spanning almost two decades. However, initial reports shifted gears and suggested a massive expansion for Modern Warfare 2 would be released that year, only to once again change their tune and indicate that Modern Warfare 3 would be the upcoming release in 2023. This level of uncertainty surrounding the development rumors of Call of Duty is highly unusual.
Reports indicate that Modern Warfare 3 will include a full campaign, multiplayer, and a new iteration of Cold War's Outbreak Zombies mode. While this is an impressive amount of content, Sledgehammer Games faces immense pressure in leading a Modern Warfare title. The extensive range of content rumored for MW3 raises concerns about a potentially unpolished or lacking launch. One of the key shortcomings in recent CoD games, such as Cold War, is the limited multiplayer map rotations, which could be a pitfall for MW3's expansive scale. With the game set to release just one year after its predecessor, there is a possibility that the final product could be rushed, leading to similar launch glitches that plagued Cold War in 2020. Although the premise of Modern Warfare 3 is exciting, its scale and close proximity to MW2 may result in the replication of glitches and content shortages experienced in Cold War's launch.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is reportedly in development.