Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's last-gen release confusion appears resolved
The previously conflicting listing has been fixed
Update - August 14, 3pm ET: The official Xbox website's listing has been updated to include Xbox One. That would, it appear, resolve all of the concerns about whether it might or might not release on that platform.
Original story follows...
There's a lot of uncertainty about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's launch platforms going around.
The speculation all begun yesterday on August 10, when the Twitter account seen just below noted that Modern Warfare 3 on PS4 and Xbox One systems might not be happening. The basis of this speculation is the Xbox website listing for Modern Warfare 3, which only mentions a launch on Xbox Series X/S systems, and entirely omits any mention of the last-gen machine.
Modern Warfare III might not be coming to last-gen consoles (PS4/Xbox One) pic.twitter.com/EwkKpd2fMgAugust 10, 2023
However, there's more than meets the eye with this speculation. Over on PlayStation's official YouTube channel, the video seen below, in which the villainous Makarov is planning his revenge, specifically mentions a launch on both PS5 and PS4 systems in the title for the trailer.
Unfortunately, ratings boards aren't much help here. The ESRB, for example, the ratings board for North America, doesn't currently have Modern Warfare 3 rated for launch later this year, and considering there's still around three months to go until the new Call of Duty game releases on November 10, that's not hugely surprising.
This could very well be a case of the platform holders not having received up-to-date information from publisher Activision or developer Sledgehammer Games about launch platforms. We've reached out to Activision for clarification, and will update this article with any new comments from the publisher.
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We'll hear more about Modern Warfare 3 next week on August 17 in Warzone 2, when the in-game event premiering a new look at the sequel unfolds.
Modern Warfare 3 is carrying forward most of Modern Warfare 2, making it look admittedly more like the DLC it's often been rumored as.
Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.
- Rollin BishopUS Managing Editor