Modern Warfare 3 reveal for GDC

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 25 February, 2011

UPDATE: Activision says timer website is a hoax.

UPDATE: Activision claims the countdown timer website is a hoax. "There seems to be a great deal of speculation about the next Call of Duty project," said the publisher in a statement issued this evening. "Let me be clear that we are not revealing yet. Anything indicating otherwise is a hoax."

ORIGINAL STORY: A new website has emerged that suggests Activision will reveal a new Modern Warfare game next week.

According to That Videogame Blog, press have been sent dog tags with a link to the website findmakarov.com. The bloody tags include the message "end the war" along with the details of Sheperd, one of the villains from Modern Warfare 2.

On the website is a countdown timer. There is just under five days left – putting a reveal slap bang in the middle of the Game Developers Conference.

Will we enjoy a Modern Warfare 3 reveal next week? Remember Activision showed the first Modern Warfare 2 teaser at GDC in 2009, complete with release date.

Last month reports suggested Infinity Ward's first game since the headline grabbing sackings of early 2010 would be a prequel to the first Modern Warfare.

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Sources claimed the game would be set immediately before the events of Infinity Ward's 2007 shooter, and delve into the backstory of the Ghost character and explain how he was recruited into Task Force 141.

Could Sledgehammer Games be involved in development? Singularity developer Raven is also rumoured to be working on Activision's FPS juggernaut.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (63) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Golgo #1 1 year ago

    / INSERT NEGATIVE COMMENT HERE

  • NewbieZilla #2 1 year ago

    I really hope the campaign of this one does justice to the first two. I loved both. I know MW2 campaign has a lot of haters, but I can't really agree.

  • Shadzter #3 1 year ago

    Let's hope it's something special and with a longer campaign this time. I enjoyed both games' campaigns, but they're too short.
    Edited by Shadzter at 25/02/11 @ 16:09

  • FuzzyDuck #4 1 year ago

    Is it that time of year again already? Sheesh.

  • NotSoSlim #5 1 year ago

    Yay just what I always wanted. Sad thing is once a date is set many other games will get delayed as a result

  • DUFFKING #6 1 year ago

    Something more than a glorified rail shooter would be very nice.

  • Timbercottage #7 1 year ago

    It's about time we had another COD game... wait a minute....

  • Whitster #8 1 year ago

    Whats that Activision, more DLC support for DJ Hero? Wait no another COD, I'll move along.....

  • bratmandu #9 1 year ago

    MW3: Cursor wielding competition for people with ADD #9786.

  • des #10 1 year ago

    nice...you will be mine,hehehe

  • richardiox #11 1 year ago

    Annual updates of the worlds biggest (selling) FPS is ridiculous. Sports titles, I can just about stomach annual releases but this franchise? And Tony Hawk? And Guitar Hero? Is there a pattern emerging?!

    edit - and as if this one will be on a new engine!! That would warrant actual investment into the franchise rather than pure exploitation. It will still be using the 4 year old, sub HD COD4 engine and MP fundamentals. Kiss goodbye to any hopes for improved physics, AI, gameplay mechanics, desctructability and balancing of difficulty levels.

    World at War, MW2, Black Ops and MW3 - the four most lucrative game reskins in history.
    Edited by richardiox at 25/02/11 @ 18:44

  • Paulie_P #12 1 year ago

    Countdown timer sets EG News Editor's pulses racing.

    So the 2011 COD hype begins.

  • dirtysteve #13 1 year ago

    Just as the MW campaign was heading down the WWIII route, stop, and do a prequel. One thing that enticed me at the end of MW2 was the idea that the player would get off the back foot, could it be that they're afraid of following the plot to it's logical conclusion, and full-scale war?

  • nooneyouknow #14 1 year ago

    Wow, reveal next COD while current COD is still no.1 in UK charts - that's saturation...!

  • dadrester #15 1 year ago

    COD4 campaign - great (for a video game)
    MW2 campaign - utter utter drivel. more nonsensical than the inane witterings of Kojima, and with none of the charm.

  • jack24 #16 1 year ago

    It begins.

  • richarddavies #17 1 year ago

    Every person I know personally that bought Black ops has either swapped it or stopped playing. Not because it's neccesarily a bad game but because there just sick of seein the same thing again. There really running a risk with this next one of milking the franchise dry like the Guitar heroes if they don't come up with something special with this one.

  • Kanjin #18 1 year ago

    A pattern? No, no of course not.

    In other news, would you like to buy our £100 special edition? Includes free mug.

    (edit: typo)
    Edited by Kanjin at 25/02/11 @ 16:28

  • beastmaster #19 1 year ago

    This should be interesting. There's a lot more competition these days. Yep, Battlefield 3 looks ace. Will there be another MOH this year?

    I also think Homefront looks rather dapper too. I don't think it's that far from release either.

  • FireMonkey #20 1 year ago

    I used to play CoD games all the time and loved them. Until MW came out. I still really liked it, but it was too arcadey (Scores popping out of people when you shoot them, kill streaks, etc). Not for me.

    I ended up going over the BF:BadCompany 2 (after playing a lot of battlefield games in the past) and I don't think I'm gonna be able to go back. BF3 for me this time unless MW3 really does something special and loses the arcadyness (which I doubt they will as it's obviously working for them).

  • FireMonkey #21 1 year ago

    @Nick - EG - How the hell do they know any of that about any of us?

  • joelstinton #22 1 year ago

    @richarddavies

    Its also that every came (barring Battlefield) has attempted to copy MW down to the bone. Even Killzone. And the FPS market is so overstuffed, its not just COD that runs the risk of being milked completley dry. Two shooters were released just today. I'll end up buying it on the cheapish, just because for half n hour here and there its fun now and again when you don't take online too seriously.

  • Lord_BeeJee #23 1 year ago

    @Nick-EG
    MW2 was a mess, but if this is on a new engine I will be excited.
    I don't think Activision will fund a new engine before a new generation of consoles is released. Tweaking this one and making content for it year after year will bring them enough sales and will be more profitable,most of the buyers won't notice the diff.

    /edit I forgot a word!
    Edited by Lord_BeeJee at 25/02/11 @ 16:37

  • HisDudness #24 1 year ago

    Just make it a subscription already...

  • Djimm #25 1 year ago

    What I hope MW3 Multiplayer will be - MW2 with bullshit removed, proper dev support and balance patches over it's lifetime

    What MW3 Multiplayer will actually be - MW2 with added bullshit, no dev support and no balance patches over it's lifetime

  • mezzomorto #26 1 year ago

    @FireMonkey - I had the same question (BTW Nick-EG not sure I agree with your comment but thanks for the link, very interesting!)

    According to one stackoverflow.com user:

    " I did some research, and apparently these demographics are tracked the same way TV audience demographics are tracked. There are people who browse with their (Alexa's) toolbars, which keeps track of the sites visited. These people willingly (?) supply information like age, gender, etc. and Alexa extrapolates the general demographics from this sample. This of course leaves room for bias, but that's a problem with statistics."

    [link url=http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3552852/how-do-alexa-and-google-analytics-track-demographics
    ]http://stackoverflow.com/questions/35528...[/link]

  • jefranklin18 #27 1 year ago

    Awesome - another gritty FPS in a modern setting. Can't get enough of those. Hopefully Activision won't do anything stupid like try to be innovative, I like my shooters generic!

  • arcam #28 1 year ago

    Unfortunately that bias would swing towards idiots who would install the Alexa toolbar to their browser.

    (OK, maybe idiots is a bit harsh, but any tech-savvy people visiting EG won't have the Alexa toolbar and therefore won't be counted.)

  • CaptainQuint #29 1 year ago

    I won't be going any where near this shite franchise again.

  • bodypopper #30 1 year ago

    Maybe it's about time they used a new engine with destruction and that. But I doubt it.

  • king26 #31 1 year ago

    And I was having such a nice day before reading this..

  • barat #32 1 year ago

    This is getting predictable. Most likely released in the middle of November as always. Maybe 11/11/11...

  • ZizouFC #33 1 year ago

    Ok.

    NOBODY BUY IT.

  • NunianVonFuch #34 1 year ago

    Screw that, when's the next Medal of Honor coming out? CoD's gone stale and while MoH was no classic, at least it felt fresh for the most part.

  • handsonhips101 #35 1 year ago

    whats call of duty?

  • darkmorgado #36 1 year ago

    After the noticeable drop in review scores across the board for BLOPS, I would love for this to be released and get a slew of 6/10s.

  • Soton4084 #37 1 year ago

    Well it certainly HASN'T got my pulse racing, that's for sure! Black Ops was very mediocre and I won't be buying the new one if it's just more of the same. It's overrated and I simply cannot stand some of the absolute cretins who play online. The fact that I traded in MW2 and Black Ops long ago, but still have BFBC:2 and play on it regularly is a sign of just how superior a game it is (in my own opinion).

    Battlefield 3 looks like it's shaping up to be a fantastic game and I will be getting that instead this year.

  • Adaptor #38 1 year ago

    Is the lawsuit about the Modern Warfare name settled already? I was really hoping for Respawn Entertainment to get the name and do something different with it. Call of Duty is one of my favourite FPS franchises but I must say BLOPS is gathering dust and it's hard to get excited about this. Activision is really risking running this franchise into the ground when even the most loyal fans are feeling the CoD fatigue.

  • Monkey_Puncher #39 1 year ago

    Just when I thought I was running out of Call of Duty games to play....

    I'm looking forward to Call of Duty : Aerosmith being announced at E3 as well. Take to the world of under cover counter ops playing the role of Stephen Tyler's gigantic rubbery lips. The Taliban will be quaking in fear as you bombard them with such hits as Love in an Elevator and I don't Want to Miss a Thing.

  • Stop-gap #40 1 year ago

    I hear the sound of a million money printers being readied for use.
    How long before Acti can buy their own small country with its own laws for dealing with those naughty disobedient staff? ;)

    edit - naughty disobedient apostrophe
    Edited by Stop-gap at 25/02/11 @ 18:12

  • frugtkompot #41 1 year ago

    Strangely, what I'm finding most interesting about this project is discovering who's actually making it.

    My guess is on Sledgehammer, though I do wonder where that leaves the rebuilt Infinity Ward for the future.

  • Raiten #42 1 year ago

    The saddest thing is, everyone could still be playing CoD4 aka MW1 multiplayer, and they wouldn't have missed a single thing with mw2 and blops released, you're anyway playing the same thing, giving praise to mw2 and blops mp should award you with /facepalm achievement.
    Besides we all know MW3 multiplayer will be yet again exact same replica of MW1, we know there's gona be people buying it and praising it like mad while not being able to realize they've played the same thing 3 times in a row and paid 3 times for the exact same thing.

  • slickster #43 1 year ago

    Theres to many COD games its getting stupid. i'll stick with black ops it hasn't been a year yet. they should make a new game every 2 year. greedy basterds

  • geordiek #44 1 year ago

    Dear Activision.
    Fuck off.

  • Tryhard #45 1 year ago

    What is that white blob on the horizon? COD sheep running down the hill to find the best corners to camp in.Or the best stairs to go prone on top of in MW3.

  • Mnia786 #46 1 year ago

    *Yawn*.
    Some new please... or is all the "creative genius" at acti hard at work?

  • merauder #47 1 year ago

    I loved both games(MW & MW2),and i hope the third one in the series would be also great!! Godfather for all of the shooters !!!

  • Lukree #48 1 year ago

    One word: Battle field

  • FireMonkey #49 1 year ago

    @Lukree - "One word: Battle field"

    I hope that was on purpose.
    Anyway, I agree.

  • Kaminari #50 1 year ago

    I hope this game crashes and burns.

    If it could hit Kotick in the face while entering the atmosphere, I'd be a happy camper (so to speak).

  • weebl #51 1 year ago

    Most of the comments in here are about as original as the franchise.

    Fine if you believe in what you're saying, but I can't help but thinking that a lot of you are jumping on the Activision hate bandwagon because all the cool kids are. Truth is you'll switch off your PC and play FIFA 11.

  • Phantom_Dynamite #52 1 year ago

    they should do a two year gap and have a proper cod out im bore of them now I don't play black ops anymore and I was dissapointed with it as in the presintation i looked about as good WaW if not worse all low it was enjoyable if it was every 2 years it would be fresh Raven make good games but also look at wolfenstein.

    I still play point du hoc on CoD2 amazing level but we need a break battlefield is getting my cash this year and it will be £10 cheaper, Its a Shame unless they pull off something amazing this may be the 1st one I miss.

  • joelstinton #53 1 year ago

    phantom- i agree man, cod games do have a two year cycle..... its been two years since the last modern warfare...its just that acti made a big arsed mistake of giving a franchise to two different developers, and release annually where everyone else loses out, both are afraid to do something different because MW1 was superb, and that what they think people want. Its clear that acti are putting their entire company behind this and WOW, and i'm sure they are more than aware of the negative slide that COD as slipped into amongst some gamers. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the two devs (probably Treyarch) were forced to drop the COD name and become 'from the makers of COD BO's'

  • Timotei #54 1 year ago

    @Soton4084

    "Battlefield 3 looks like it's shaping up to be a fantastic game"

    You don't think it's trying a little too hard to knock on the "OMG" door of CoD? judging by the recent trailer I'm more than a little worried.

  • inutaihanyou #55 1 year ago

    I have 30 times as more interest in Respawn's new game that has no release date, title or even gameplay mechanics shown.

  • GamesConnoisseur #56 1 year ago

    MW3 seems like a candidate for a strong solidarity among gamers for a boycott which would see a tangible dent in usual expected sales, even if only by a ten percent.. Executives would be crying into their beers, but I not believe this as we are too much of a hypocrite as on an overall balance, most of us are all dying to play the game. Though there are now better competition for online MP and SP.

    Well come on, throw your worse at us Acti!

  • chrisola #57 1 year ago

    why would anyone wanted to spend money ,on what essentially is a dressed up Counterstrike, every year?

    COD is as far from Counterstrike as you can get...clearly you have never played Counterstrike!

    Counterstrike would probably be the king of on-line FPS if done properly on consoles

  • TitusCrow #58 1 year ago

    You know, I think they might have been going to reveal something...then the BF3 teaser video hit and they new they were bang in trouble. Unless acti do a revolutionary new game with a new engine and / or BF3 fucks up in some major way, this is the year of the changing of the guard.

    This is the "perfect storm" of conditions for EA this is the chance they cannot afford to and will not miss.

    If acti want the serious COD players back they need to get them back; rinse and repeat leads to a dead end and maybe even Bobby is getting it now. He better understand that his shareholders don't give a damn about activision any more than he gives a damn about gaming. They only care for a good dividend its all short term and non emotional. When the market tells them the love is gone and the wind is changing they will dump those shares faster that you can say crash! to put the money where the best return is.

    So you see Bobby you are running your franchises into the ground for people who don't give a rats ass about the future of the studio as a business or game maker. Your only hope is to become corporate raiders, buy successful ready made franchises and exploit the hell out of them for 2-3 years at an super high margin, then shut them down the minuet they fall bellow a certain profit margin. Slash wage bills close studios, lay people off sell assets and take the money made and do it all again.

    Just don't expect it to last for ever no established franchise with any brains would sign up for you, except through an iron clad contract like bungie did. Scary stuff when karma comes back to bite you eh?

  • coolbritannia #59 1 year ago

    NewbieZilla, YES! The campaigns in IW's games are great, the set pieces really stick in my head. The nuke, the truck chase and shock ending of MW, the assault on the white house in MW2, even the last scene of MW2 Da,'I know a place' is slickly done, Treyarch just can't compete with what IW achieved.

  • Daeltaja #60 1 year ago

    Holy crap this bores my face off.

  • Collymilad #61 1 year ago

    / INSERT ACTIVISION DEFENDING COMMENT HERE(BECAUSE I'M JUST COOL LIKE THAT). PROVING I AM SMARTER THAN THE MASSES BY SOMEHOW STILL NOT THINKING ACTIVISION ARE DICKS AND PRETENDING I KNOW ABOUT BUSINESS AND STUFF.


    :|

  • Matfink #62 1 year ago

    Cool! This can soak up all the ADHD cretins while BF3 remains pure :p

    Though maybe they'll tone down the arcadiness this year just so they can wack it back on full for next year's release.

  • carlitoswagon #63 1 year ago

    Having adourned my Swedish milking maids outfit, yellow clogs and carrying my silver bucket I think I look quiet cute. Now it's just a waiting game.

    Hope the neigbours don't see.