Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is coming only a year after the release of Modern Warfare 2. Sledgehammer is taking the reins from Infinity Ward instead of the franchise stepping away from annual releases as part of a move that was previously discussed by Activision.
There is too much money in this piñata to resist giving it another bludgeon, so here we are, ready for another war crime-ridden caper with Captain Price and company. Task Force 141 is ready to take down Makarov, and I’m happily jumping on the hype train. See, I told you I was a true gamer who loves blasting guns and grizzled military men.
The second instalment was a solid experience with a varied single-player campaign and multiplayer offerings that marked the return of heavy, nuanced gunplay amidst all the usual live service offerings. I’ve never been a fan of Warzone, but I’ll seldom turn down classic Call of Duty action presented in a mold this confident. After what felt like an inconsistent start, it seemed all the new iterations of characters and ideas finally hit their stride.
Captain Price was a morally duplicitous leader, while Ghost and Soap proved to be bickering boyfriends who are totally in love no matter what the internet tries to tell me. Now, with a third game on the horizon, Makarov is ready to kick things off and usher in a new generation of ‘No Russian’ and whatever controversy such a return entails.
Despite my excitement for more modern day shenanigans, it feels like it’s coming much too soon, and so there are fewer reasons to get my hopes up about a game which has a decent chance of only reaching the finish line thanks to a rushed production cycle and crunch forced on its developers. Activision has several studios and goodness knows how many supporting staff it can pull onto this franchise whenever it sees fit, but a year and change still isn’t much time to make a blockbuster this ambitious a reality. Especially one that players won’t turn against.
The announcement hasn’t gone down well, and it seems there are myriad doubts across the community about Modern Warfare 3 either being rushed, or not being helmed by veterans at Infinity Ward when the studio is so synonymous with the brand. Fans are doubtful, and many seem to feel their love for all things Modern Warfare is being taken advantage of to pump out another entry in short succession that benefits Activision’s convenience far more than it pushes the series forward either mechanically or thematically. A complete lack of gameplay or actual context regarding the game itself as part of the reveal also doesn’t help matters.
Beloved mechanics like slide cancelling are making a return, but we only know that after a few influencers pieced together the news from nonsensical packages sent by Activision. It feels iterative rather than groundbreaking, and will likely see Call of Duty and Warzone all maintain a constant but vapid identity for yet another year, and that isn’t good enough for a franchise that should thrive on surprising its audience and taking us on a tour of new and existing locations and conflicts each with their own distinct flavour. More Modern Warfare isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when it’s presented to us in under a year and from what appears to be a different studio, it isn’t coming in the form any of us really want to see.