Highlights

  • Ranked Play mode in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been delayed due to a critical issue.
  • The game's Season 1 Reloaded update introduced major game-breaking bugs, causing frustration for players.
  • It has become a tradition for Ranked Play mode to be launched months after the game's release, possibly to extend the game's lifespan.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 announced that the release of its Ranked Play mode has been delayed. The new mode was supposed to launch today on January 17 alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Season 1 Reloaded update.

Call of Duty's Season 1 Reloaded update was the game's first major content patch since Season 1's release in early December. Modern Warfare 3 fans were excited to get their hands on two new weapons, a new The Boys-themed Call of Duty event, a new map, and more. However, the update's launch has been anything but smooth, as it introduced some major game-breaking bugs to Call of Duty. In response to these bugs, Call of Duty recently made a disappointing announcement regarding the new Ranked Play mode.

a-train and firecracker
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The official CODUpdates Twitter account announced that "Due to unforeseen circumstances, MWIII Ranked Play will be delayed while we investigate a recently discovered critical issue. Our teams are working to solve this issue and launch MWIII Ranked Play as soon as possible." At the time of writing, Call of Duty has not offered any additional details regarding the mode's timeline, so it could be launched within 24 hours or not for another week. It will possibly depend on how quickly its development team can patch the other major issues currently plaguing Call of Duty following the Season 1 Reloaded update. This is probably frustrating to the game's relatively small but dedicated competitive player base, which has waited since the game's release on November 10 for the addition of Ranked Play.

It's become a Call of Duty tradition that the Ranked Play mode is not launched until months after each game's release. Some fans speculate that this is to help extend the lifespan of each Call of Duty title by luring some of the hardcore players back after the opening months of each game. Given Call of Duty's massive resources, it seems unlikely that Ranked Play is released late every year due to development issues. However, this is just speculation, and this being a reality would be a disappointingly cynical, but believable, move by Call of Duty.

If Call of Duty fans wish to brave the current bug-filled state of the game, they can try out Season 1 Reloaded's two new guns, the new Rio map, and new game modes. These new modes include Headquarters, Infected, and Team Gunfight. The latter is an interesting new twist on the fan-favorite Gunfight mode, which sees two teams of six battle it out on regular 6v6 maps using Gunfight's unique approach to the game.