Modern Warfare III’s Campaign Creative Director Discusses Sequels, Open Combat Missions, and More

The first Call of Duty recreation was launched practically twenty years in the past on October 29, 2003, and for the primary time in franchise historical past, we’re getting a direct sequel to the earlier yr’s recreation when Modern Warfare III launches November 10, 2023. This paradigm shift is certain to excite followers wanting to proceed the Modern Warfare storyline, and as we speak we’re studying extra about Modern Warfare III from the worldwide in-game Reveal Event occurring in Warzone earlier as we speak.

In the direct sequel to the record-breaking Modern Warfare II, Captain Price, and Task Force 141 face off towards the final word menace. The ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov is extending his grasp internationally, inflicting Task Force 141 to combat like by no means earlier than.

In preparation for this big day, I had the chance to talk with David Swenson, the Campaign Creative Director for Modern Warfare III. Swenson and Sledgehammer Games are celebrating their 14^th anniversary this yr and have been one of many key studios instrumental in creating a number of earlier Call of Duty titles and are the lead builders for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.

Direct Sequel to the Record-Breaking Modern Warfare II

Our dialog began off discussing this being a direct sequel for the primary time in franchise historical past, and Swenson mentions as a storyteller, he sees this as an superior alternative, one which he’s excited they’re in a position to do in a approach that hasn’t been carried out earlier than. “Can you imagine if we dropped the No Russian post-credit scene (from Modern Warfare II) and then having to wait three years to find out more details,” says Swenson. “This is a huge opportunity. I don’t have to spend a lot of time reminding the audience what they played and getting them to care about those characters again because they’ve been caring about those characters through the last game, and the post-launch live seasons have continued the story. We’re able to get right into this and pick up right where we left off.”

Can you think about if we dropped the No Russian post-credit scene from Modern Warfare II and then having to attend three years to search out out extra particulars…now we’re in a position to get proper into this and choose up proper the place we left off.

For these new or unfamiliar with the unique and/or reimagined Modern Warfare campaigns and further narrative continued all through the Modern Warfare sequence and stay seasons, Swenson responds, “The way we approach campaign narratives is the live seasons give more depth to the story and characters for our dedicated fans, but at the same time, we build the in-game campaigns so the story makes sense for first time players as well. It will be an amazing thrill ride whether you’re a returning fan or if it’s your first time playing a Modern Warfare game.”

For a franchise spanning twenty years and over twenty releases, I requested Swenson about collaborating with the totally different studios like Infinity Ward on Modern Warfare III, and how the groups handle to have these blockbuster annual releases yr after yr.

“We’re all developers, but we’re also Call of Duty fans, and we care deeply about the characters. We study everything about the game. There are so many characters, relationships, factions, and locations in the MW canon, and they are super important to the story,” says Swenson. “Each studio has an amazing narrative team and for Modern Warfare III in partnership with Infinity Ward, we’re collaborating to make a campaign we hope everyone loves.” Swenson continues to speak about how with each new title, all of the builders are at all times seeking to the longer term and what they’ll carry the followers subsequent, and what cool new factor they’ll add to the sport. It felt like Swenson was main as much as a giant revelation, so I pressed on with giddy pleasure. He didn’t disappoint.

“This year we have, what I would say, is a huge innovation for campaign in Call of Duty,” states Swenson. “We call it Open Combat Missions, and they are missions where we add this incredible level of choice and opportunity to the player.”

This yr now we have, what I’d say, is a large innovation for marketing campaign in Call of Duty.

Open Combat Missions

From the official Call of Duty weblog: Open Combat Missions (OCMs) are an thrilling innovation to the Call of Duty Campaign. Not solely do these complement the cinematic missions you’ve come to count on, however additionally they give you quite a few further selections relating to your strategies of mission completion. For instance, in case you favor to make use of stealth methods, it’s possible you’ll want to undertake an OCM with a lights-out method, utilizing night-vision goggles and suppressed weapons and full your targets with out your adversaries figuring out you have been even there. However, if loud explosions and reckless abandon are a part of your repertoire, strap additional armor plates onto your torso and hit these targets head-on!

“Call of Duty campaigns are known for these epic, cinematic, storytelling, narrative-driven missions that take the audience on a thrill ride and Modern Warfare III has all of that,” says Swenson, “But we’ve also added Open Combat Missions that provide opportunities for you to tackle a mission objective however you want to do it according to your playstyle.”

Just to be clear – we’re not speaking a couple of stealth mission the place you get to select from an arsenal of silenced weapons, slightly, you may be given a mission and you may arm your self with solely a knife and play it as a stealth mission; or you may hop in a automobile, launch an all-out assault, and go in weapons blazing. Swenson mentions these missions could be difficult and usually result in a number of makes an attempt to find a tactic the place you’re glad with the outcomes.

Swenson senses my pleasure over this function and affords much more element, a lot to my delight. “It’s an evolution in Call of Duty campaigns and an evolution of how players experience it. These aren’t side missions, they are campaign missions woven seamlessly into the story, and they offer you more choices than you’ve ever had before,” declares Swenson. “If you want to sneak through the entire level, you can. There are also vehicles, cleverly hidden loot boxes, and weapon crates on these Open Combat Missions, some of which contain killstreaks which we are calling Armaments since you don’t need to streak any kills to earn them.”

As you seemingly know, killstreaks are usually related to the multiplayer part of Call of Duty, however Swenson assures me in case you rigorously search your environment and uncover one of many numerous Armaments in an Open Combat Mission, you may be rewarded with a tactical merchandise for issues like calling in air help. I can’t verify whether or not air help means a UAV or an AC-130 Gunship, however including Armaments to the one participant marketing campaign sounds thrilling to me!

Before ending my dialog with Swenson, I requested if he had any parting phrases on how he’s feeling now that lots of the particulars have been revealed, and whether or not he performs video games he’s developed. “I love games, and I love Call of Duty. I’ve played through the campaign hundreds of times (testing it), and I already know how it ends,” says Swenson. “But my absolute favorite thing to do is sit and watch other people play through the campaigns we’ve built. I’m ready to get it into everyone else’s hands so they can enjoy and experience the story we’ve created.”

Since I used to be speaking to the Campaign Creative Director, most of my questions clearly centered on the one participant factor of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, however I can guarantee you there are equally thrilling plans for progressive new recreation play mechanics and multiplayer options, lots of which have been introduced earlier as we speak.

 Check out this web page for extra particulars in regards to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Worldwide Reveal.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III releases November 10 and is out there for pre-order on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S as we speak. To learn extra in regards to the recreation, take a look at the official web site and comply with @CallofDuty on Twitter.

Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III – Cross-Gen Bundle

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆
4404

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order any digital version and obtain:

– Early entry to the Open Beta*
– Play the Campaign as much as every week early**
– Soap Operator Pack – pre-order for rapid use in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II and Warzone™. Also out there in Modern Warfare® III at launch***

**Actual play time topic to potential outages and relevant time zone variations.

Includes:

– Cross Gen Bundle of Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III
— Includes Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S variations of the sport

ADAPT OR DIE IN A FIGHT AGAINST THE ULTIMATE THREAT

In the direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II, Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off towards the final word menace. The ultranationalist warfare felony Vladimir Makarov is extending his grasp internationally inflicting Task Force 141 to combat like by no means earlier than.

IT’S TIME TO SETTLE OLD SCORES AND START NEW ONES

Modern Warfare® III celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Call of Duty® with one of many biggest collections of Multiplayer maps ever assembled – each fan favorites and all new ones. All 16 launch maps from the unique Modern Warfare® 2 (2009) have been modernized with new modes and gameplay options and will probably be out there at launch to get everybody began, whereas over 12 all-new core 6v6 maps will gas post-launch stay seasons.

ALL NEW OPEN WORLD ZOMBIES

For the primary time, group up with different squads to outlive and combat huge hordes of the undead within the largest Call of Duty® Zombies map ever. Modern Warfare® Zombies (MWZ) tells a brand new Treyarch Zombies story with missions, core Zombies options, and secrets and techniques to find.


*Actual platform availability and launch date(s) of Beta topic to vary. See www.callofduty.com/beta for extra particulars. Minimum Open Beta length is 2 days. Limited time solely. Internet connection required and Xbox Live Gold subscription could also be required.

**Actual play time topic to potential outages and relevant time zone variations.

***Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II / Call of Duty®: Warzone™ on Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S required to redeem Soap Operator Pack. Sold / downloaded individually. Must be redeemed by November tenth, 2024.

For extra data, please go to www.callofduty.com.

© 2023 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE, and MODERN WARFARE are logos of Activision Publishing, Inc. All different logos and commerce names are the property of their respective house owners. This product incorporates software program know-how licensed from Id Software (‘Id Technology’). Id Technology © 1999-2023 Id Software, Inc.

Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III – Vault Edition

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆
210

★★★★★

$99.99

Pre-order any digital version and obtain:

– Early entry to the Open Beta*
– Play the Campaign as much as every week early**
– Soap Operator Pack – pre-order for rapid use in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II and Warzone™. Also out there in Modern Warfare® III at launch***

**Actual play time topic to potential outages and relevant time zone variations.

The Vault Edition Includes:

– Cross Gen Bundle of Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III
— Includes Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S variations of the sport
– Nemesis Operator Pack
— 4 Operators Skins: Makarov, Warden, Price and Ghost
– 2 Weapon Vaults****
– BlackCell (1 Season) + 30 further Tier Skips*****
— BlackCell Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and extra

ADAPT OR DIE IN A FIGHT AGAINST THE ULTIMATE THREAT

In the direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II, Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off towards the final word menace. The ultranationalist warfare felony Vladimir Makarov is extending his grasp internationally inflicting Task Force 141 to combat like by no means earlier than.

IT’S TIME TO SETTLE OLD SCORES AND START NEW ONES

Modern Warfare® III celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Call of Duty® with one of many biggest collections of Multiplayer maps ever assembled – each fan favorites and all new ones. All 16 launch maps from the unique Modern Warfare® 2 (2009) have been modernized with new modes and gameplay options and will probably be out there at launch to get everybody began, whereas over 12 all-new core 6v6 maps will gas post-launch stay seasons.

ALL NEW OPEN WORLD ZOMBIES

For the primary time, group up with different squads to outlive and combat huge hordes of the undead within the largest Call of Duty® Zombies map ever. Modern Warfare® Zombies (MWZ) tells a brand new Treyarch Zombies story with missions, core Zombies options, and secrets and techniques to find.


*Actual platform availability and launch date(s) of Beta topic to vary. See www.callofduty.com/beta for extra particulars. Minimum Open Beta length is 2 days. Limited time solely. Internet connection required and Xbox Live Gold subscription could also be required.

**Actual play time topic to potential outages and relevant time zone variations.

***Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II / Call of Duty®: Warzone™ on Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S required to redeem Soap Operator Pack. Sold / downloaded individually. Must be redeemed by November tenth, 2024.

****Weapon Vault design restricted to Weapon Vault contents at launch.

*****Battle Pass, Call of Duty® factors, and Tier Skips will probably be accessible in Modern Warfare® III as soon as the Season 1 Battle Pass is made out there in recreation. Battle Pass redemption applies to at least one Season of Modern Warfare® III Battle Pass solely.

For extra data, please go to www.callofduty.com.

© 2023 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE, and MODERN WARFARE are logos of Activision Publishing, Inc. All different logos and commerce names are the property of their respective house owners. This product incorporates software program know-how licensed from Id Software (‘Id Technology’). Id Technology © 1999-2023 Id Software, Inc.