Activision says that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has “the highest engagement in the new Modern Warfare trilogy,” according to a new announcement today.
To clarify, the company said that MW3 has “more hours per player overall” than Modern Warfare 2019 and Modern Warfare 2, but did not specify actual player numbers or total hours played. The lack of specifics here is a head-scratcher, but it’s a good way to positively spin a game that is being reviewed poorly across the board.
All of this good news about MW3 ignores that it’s the worst-reviewed game in the franchise’s history, with many reviews slamming the short, uninspired campaign. But Activision says players are “putting in more time per player in MW3” campaign than in MW 2019 or MW2. That’s likely due to the fact that many trophies and achievements are locked behind the “Open Combat Missions” in the game, and less to do with it being enjoyable or lengthy. The campaign can be finished in just three or four hours by most.
“MW3 players, this season, we are thankful for you,” CoD said in the graphic posted on Twitter/X. “Thank you for a historic launch. Just two weeks in, MW3 has already set records with the highest engagement in the new MW trilogy! Thank you for inspiring us and for spending so much time in this game. Your feedback and passion continually make us better – it’s been a blast, and there’s much more fun in store!”
For what it’s worth, community sentiment around some sections is positive about MW3’s multiplayer. Many enjoy the game’s weapons, new movement mechanics compared to MW2, and classic maps, with the one big downfall being over-tuned skill-based matchmaking that makes the game sweatier than it needs to be. And the SBMM controversy is easily the most talked-about aspect of multiplayer across social channels, with a Sledgehammer Games AMA yesterday being the most obvious example.
Modern Warfare Zombies, meanwhile, is seemingly enjoyed by most. Activision says it’s “the most engaging third mode in MW history,” but that really doesn’t explain what that means, either. Previous other third modes include Spec Ops and Raid, both of which did not have much replay value.
The company also confirmed the launch date for season one, which will be coming on Dec. 6 and will add new content to multiplayer and Zombies, as well as the new Warzone map, Urzikstan.
MW3 currently holds a 55 critic score on Metacritic and a 1.8 user score.
