Highlights
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is rumored to be in development by Sledgehammer Games, similar to the 2011 MW3, which it co-developed.
- The rushed production timeline, legal issues for Infinity Ward, and high expectations for the 2011 game resulted in a half-baked experience, which may be repeated in the upcoming game.
- Despite positive critic reviews, the community felt that Modern Warfare 3 was lacking in comparison to its predecessors, and with the new MW3 seemingly having a short development schedule, the same could happen again.
Though it hasn't been confirmed just yet, all signs are pointing toward Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 being this year's entry in the long-running annual FPS franchise. Leaks and rumors surrounding the game started to crop up a few months ago, and since then, Activision has seemingly had little desire to squash any subsequent leaks, with the most recent widespread leak even revealing Modern Warfare 3's apparent logo. While Sledgehammer Games has kept quiet, it hasn't stayed silent, replying to a number of tweets with some teasing emojis, and practically confirming what everyone already knows, though it might take a little bit longer before Activision's ready to make that first proper announcement.
With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 being a pretty huge hit for the franchise, and last year's Modern Warfare 2 being the fastest-selling entry in the franchise, it only makes sense that Activision would want to fast-track Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. But the Modern Warfare 3 title already has some pretty heavy baggage, and 2023's game of the same name could end up repeating history in a few troubling ways.
How Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Could Be Repeating History
History has a knack for repeating itself, and that could easily end up being true for 2023's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which already seems to share a few major similarities with the 2011 original. One of the biggest similarities between the original Modern Warfare 3 from 2011 and the alleged upcoming Modern Warfare 3 is that both games will have been developed by Sledgehammer Games.
While the original Modern Warfare 3 was headed up by Infinity Ward, the then-newly formed Sledgehammer Games helped co-develop the title, focusing on its multiplayer component. According to just about every rumor related to the game, 2023's Modern Warfare 3 will also be developed by Sledgehammer Games, though this time the studio will reportedly be the lead developer on the sequel, presumably working on all aspects of the game, from whatever single-player content it has to whatever multiplayer modes it includes.
Unfortunately, this year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has the potential to share another big similarity with the original 2011 version, and that's the game's rushed state. Back in November 2009, just two weeks after the release of Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was put into production. At the best of times, this two-year development cycle is already pushing things for a AAA game, but paired with the very public legal dispute between Infinity Ward's co-founders and Activision and their subsequent firing, this timeline really wasn't long enough for Modern Warfare 3. On top of the tight development schedule, Sledgehammer was also apparently targeting a Metacritic score of 95 and above, and was aiming for the game to be the first bug-free entry in the franchise.
With some extremely lofty goals, and not nearly enough time to achieve them in, 2011's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was met with very positive critic reviews on launch, but the community's consensus was that the game had been rushed, leaving some of its major components feeling half-baked. Though it isn't known just how long 2023's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been in development, it presumably couldn't have been all that long, with Modern Warfare 2 only releasing last year. With potentially even less development time than its 2011 counterpart, Modern Warfare 3 could end up repeating history, with a rushed game that feels very half-baked in certain areas possibly on the way.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is reportedly in development.
