How Modern Warfare 3’s open combat missions change the rules of engagement

A cinematic scene from Modern Warfare 3.

The latest Call of Duty is shaping up to be something of a blast from the past. Titled Modern Warfare 3, this upcoming installment in the blockbuster first-person shooter series is a direct sequel to 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 and the third overall entry in the refreshed Modern Warfare universe. 

Although the storyline was reset with 2019’s reboot of the Modern Warfare sub-series, everything we’ve seen of Modern Warfare 3 so far suggests a big reliance on nostalgia for those original games. Packed with shiny remakes of multiplayer maps from the first Modern Warfare 2 (the 2009 title), it’s clear that developer Sledgehammer Games aims to entice lapsed fans with the tantalizing prospect of revisiting iconic locales like Rust and Favela in online play.