Summary

  • Sledgehammer Games denies that it was rushed to release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, stating that it spent "years" realizing the game's vision.
  • Sledgehammer also disputed the claim that MW3 was initially intended to be DLC, and that it wanted to make another Advanced Warfare instead before Activision interfered.
  • The original report to the contrary was authored by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, one of today's most well-respected gaming journalists with a long track record of legitimate scoops.

Sledgehammer Games has denied that it was forced to rush Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The studio did so as part of a wordy statement that was seemingly meant to be a response to a recent Bloomberg report suggesting Activision rushed Modern Warfare 3 to the market and is hence largely to blame for the lackluster state of the game at launch.

The hit shooter series historically operated on a three-year cycle, with Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer taking turns developing each new mainline entry. Since 2016, all three studios have been assisted by Raven Software, another Activision subsidiary that's also the lead on the battle royale Warzone games. However, several recent reports indicated that Modern Warfare 3 marks the start of a new Call of Duty release model that will shorten the development of all future entries in the franchise to just two years, and seek to alternate between unique games and iterative sequels like Modern Warfare 3, the latter of which would be exclusively Sledgehammer's responsibility.

Sledgehammer Denies Claim that Modern Warfare 3 Was Rushed

A shortened development cycle was also mentioned in the recent Bloomberg report, which stated that Modern Warfare 3 was made in just 16 months after Activision delayed Treyarch's 2023 Call of Duty game. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Sledgehammer Games subsequently issued a statement from Studio Head Aaron Halon, which directly disputed large parts of that report. Among other things, Halon said that the company spent "years" realizing the vision for Modern Warfare 3. "Anything said to the contrary is simply not true," he wrote.

The Bloomberg report, authored by established industry insider Jason Schreier, also mentioned that Sledgehammer initially wanted to make another Advanced Warfare game after wrapping up work on the 2021 Call of Duty: Vanguard, only for Activision to tell it to tackle Modern Warfare 3 instead. Halon disputed this claim as well, stating that the studio made the first back-to-back sequel in the franchise history because that's what the fans were asking for.

Finally, Schreier reported that Modern Warfare 3 was initially envisioned as a Modern Warfare 2 DLC, but was turned into a standalone game after Treyarch's next Call of Duty entry was delayed. An Activision spokesperson had already denied that claim even before Halon did.

A lot of the criticism aimed at the current state of Modern Warfare 3 is directed at its lackluster single-player campaign. While it remains to be seen whether this fan backlash ends up having a material impact on the future of the series, what's certain is that Activision already has the next four years of Call of Duty planned out.

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Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) Tag Page Cover Art
6 /10

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III
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First-Person Shooter
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 58 /100 Critics Rec: 14%
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Released
November 10, 2023
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
Developer(s)
Sledgehammer Games
Publisher(s)
Activision
Engine
iw 9.0
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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The war has changed. Call of Duty returns with an all-new campaign, modernized versions of classic Multiplayer maps and an open-world PvE Zombies experience. The campaign, a direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, sees Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov as he extends his grasp across the world.  In Multiplayer, the 16 maps that launched with Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 return with upgraded graphics, new modes and innovative gameplay features. In Modern Warfare Zombies, team up with other squads for the first time ever as you work together to survive in the largest Zombies map yet

Genre(s)
First-Person Shooter