Modern Warfare 3 Zombies, ‘open campaign combat missions’ and new perk system confirmed

Activision has announced new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 details ahead of Thursday’s full reveal.

“This reveal represents a special moment for Call of Duty, as for the first time in franchise history, this year’s premium release serves as a direct sequel to last year’s Modern Warfare II,” the company said in a blog post.

Confirming recent teases, Activision said the game will include “the largest Zombies offering to date”.

It will also include “new Open Combat missions in Campaign; new Combat Vests and Perk system for customizing your Multiplayer Operator; new Tac-Stance movement; new After-Market Parts for unparalleled Gunsmith customization and more”.

Activision also announced a new hub for Call of Duty content.

“Starting with Modern Warfare II and Warzone, and now with Modern Warfare III and beyond, players can navigate all their content in one place, we call it Call of Duty HQ – making it easier to select which game and modes you wish to play.”

In February, Bloomberg claimed Activision had originally planned to release a major expansion for 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 this year, but that the DLC had morphed into a full game.

In its blog post, the publisher claimed that a direct sequel to 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 had been planned for years.

“Our vision to deliver back-to-back Modern Warfare games has been years in the making,” it said. “From the start of development across both Modern Warfare II and Modern Warfare III, Sledgehammer Games has worked closely with Infinity Ward to create a blockbuster sequel in the Modern Warfare series, featuring the return of iconic heroes and villains alike.”

Following a series of leaks, Activision officially announced Modern Warfare 3 last week. It will be released on November 10, 2023, for PC, PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

Further reading

Modern Warfare 3 could feature all of MW2 2009’s multiplayer maps

Zombies mode also seemingly teased for this year’s Call of Duty game

The publisher plans to unveil the game on August 17 during a Call of Duty: Warzone event starting at 10.30am PT / 1.30pm ET / 6.30pm BST / 7.30 CEST.

Ahead of tomorrow’s reveal, Activision is also reportedly teasing plans for the game to feature remastered versions of all the launch multiplayer maps from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2.