Tag: Call of Duty

CoD MW3 Season 1 release date, new weapons, fresh modes, and more

Our CoD MW3 Season 1 guide lays out the MW3 Season 1 release date and everything to expect, including new modes and fresh weapons.

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CoD Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 is just around the corner, with new maps for the FPS game, more modes, fresh weapons, and even a new Zombies mode story in tow. Ranked matches will finally make an appearance in the middle of the multiplayer game’s first season, though DMZ mode is on its last legs. Activision is removing cross-progression for the mode and has plans to revamp it later on.

There’s also a zombified Santa Claus, because ’tis the season.

The big content drop has a lot to get through, but we’ve rounded up everything new in CoD MW3 Season 1 below.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Zombies: Best weapons

We’ve picked out the best weapons to use in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Zombies, from pistols and SMGs to the BIS gold-plated weapons

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The best COD MW3 Zombies weapons give you a fighting chance against the FPS game’s fiercest, most relentless enemies. There might not be that many new weapons in MW3, but this is the first time you can actually use MW2’s arsenal against Zombies, since that game didn’t have a supernatural horror mode of its own. There’s also a small selection of new weapons exclusive to Modern Warfare Zombies. 

There’s a lot to think about, but we’ve done the hard work, sorted through them all, and picked out the best weapons to use in MWZ.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 release times on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox

We run down all the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 release times for every time zone and the differences between console and PC releases

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 release times are almost upon us, and Activision is handling the FPS game’s launch a little differently. Modern Warfare 3’s campaign has an early access launch for those who pre-ordered certain versions, though the multiplayer component – the part that’ll have tie-ins with Warzone – is locked until launch day. Activision

We run down what this means for every time zone and the differences between console and PC releases, so you know when you can dive into the campaign in early access and how long you have to wait for multiplayer mode to launch.

Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation following Microsoft’s purchase of Activision

As the case surrounding Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard rolls on, the company has come to an agreement with PlayStation.

The past few months have seen several major developments as Microsoft pursues its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The FTC initially filed an injunction against the deal, preventing it from going ahead, however, last week saw a US Judge block that injunction, allowing the deal to proceed in the US.

The UK’s CMA now remains the only opposition to the deal, and we may hear more from them soon. But in the meantime, one of the central arguments against the deal going ahead seems to have been resolved.

Among Activision Blizzard’s many IPs, none is more valuable than Call of Duty, the military first-person shooter worth an estimated $31 billion in 2023, and Sony has been staunchly against the series becoming exclusive to Xbox and PC. Xbox has been making plenty of ten-year deals with various companies, like Nintendo, to keep CoD on other platforms, but until now, Sony and PlayStation have been notably left out.

This has finally changed, as the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, announced via Twitter that the two publishers have “signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard”.

There isn’t currently any official confirmation as to the nature of the deal, but industry insiders expect it to be a ten-year deal, similar to those Microsoft has previously made. If this is the case then PlayStation players can rest easy knowing CoD will remain on their preferred console until at least 2033.

Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.

The Red Cross wants you to follow Rules of War in multiplayer games

The Red Cross is partnering with Twitch streamers to promote the Rules of War in multiplayer games and FPS games

The International Red Cross is partnering with Twitch streamers to promote the Rules of War in multiplayer games and FPS games (thanks, Kotaku). The organization’s aim is to raise awareness of these rules and how violating them can cause additional, unnecessary harm during armed conflicts.

“Every day, people play games set in conflict zones right from their couch,” the Red Cross said in a statement. “But right now, armed conflicts are more prevalent than ever. And to the people suffering from their effects, this conflict is not a game. It destroys lives and leaves communities devastated. Therefore, we’re challenging you to play FPS by the real Rules of War, to show everyone that even wars have rules—rules which protect humanity on battlefields IRL.”

During the campaign, the Red Cross’ Twitch channel is posting videos of popular streamers, including Zemie, DanucD, and KingGeorge, playing popular shooters such as Call of Duty Warzone, PUBG, and Fortnite while adhering to the rules. Sometimes. They don’t always follow them, but they at least try.

The rules are:

  • Use med kits on everyone
  • No shooting downed or unresponsive enemies (known as thirsting)
  • No targeting non-violent NPCs
  • No targeting civilian buildings

The Red Cross also created an island in Fortnite that’s designed to promote following the rules in a competitive setting. The organization’s website also includes more in-depth information about how adhering to the Rules of War alleviates suffering and can prevent conflicts from escalating.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Sony says Microsoft may make Call of Duty on PlayStation unplayable

Sony believes Microsoft’s promise for parity between Call of Duty on PlayStation and Xbox may not amount to much.

Sony believes Microsoft’s promise for parity between Call of Duty on PlayStation and Xbox may not amount to much. A court document from February, recently made public (thanks, The Verge), outlines the PlayStation maker’s concerns over how well Call of Duty might perform on the console if the Xbox Activision deal goes through, including the belief that Microsoft may introduce bugs in the game.

Sony presented its concerns in a lengthy section discussing why a “behavioral remedy” designed to hold Microsoft accountable and prevent harm to competition would be unacceptable. The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has not proposed such a remedy, though the agency said one may be considered, depending on Microsoft’s answers to the CMA’s initial report.

The Santa Monica-based company said behavioral restrictions would only give Microsoft more room to cause harm and called for structural restrictions instead.

“Microsoft might release a PlayStation version of Call of Duty where bugs and errors emerge only on the game’s final level or after later updates,” Sony said in the document. “Even if such degradations could be swiftly detected, any remedy would likely come too late, by which time the gaming community would have lost confidence in PlayStation as a go-to venue to play Call of Duty.”

The CMA’s research into the deal turned up a statistic that showed a sizeable segment of consumers plays Call of Duty on PlayStation. Microsoft recently disputed the figure and reiterated its promise of parity on both platforms, though the Xbox maker has yet to make details of that plan public.

Sony’s other concerns include poor multiplayer performance and optimization on PlayStation, should Microsoft focus on the games’ Xbox version after launch, and the belief that Microsoft may make Call of Duty available only on Xbox Game Pass.

The CMA is expected to issue a final report in late April, along with the European Union. The EU is reportedly planning to permit the deal without requiring major concessions.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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UK regulator thinks Call of Duty on Switch is an empty promise

Microsoft promised Call of Duty on Switch for 10 years if the Activision Blizzard deal goes through, but U.K. regulators aren’t convinced

Microsoft promised Call of Duty on Switch for 10 years if the Activision Blizzard deal goes through, but the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) isn’t convinced. Microsoft originally made the promise after concerns over the deal’s impact on competition in the games space arose, and company president Brad Smith said, during a recent meeting with European Union representatives in Brussels, that Nintendo agreed to the deal.

GamesRadar recently looked back through the CMA’s initial report from February on the deal and found the CMA already expressed doubt that such a deal would matter. Late in the report, the CMA said technical disparities between Nintendo hardware and other game consoles make it unlikely that the Switch could run Call of Duty games adequately. Even if it could, it would require additional, costly work to get the games running.

“We have… seen evidence that large shooter games do not run as well on Nintendo’s consoles due to its technical differentiation,” the CMA said in its report. “One third party [publisher] submitted that graphically intensive shooters may often be targeted originally at PlayStation and Xbox due to the specific characteristics of their console performance and that porting to the Nintendo Switch may require financial investment and compromises on graphical quality”.

There are possible alternatives that might satisfy everyone involved, though. Nintendo may be releasing a new, more powerful console in the near future, and Microsoft may be aware of the company’s plans. The company may also release cloud versions of the games instead, as Capcom did with Resident Evil Village and IO Interactive with Hitman 3.

The CMA will issue its full report on April 26. The European anti-competition agency is expected to issue its objections to the deal soon as well, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against Microsoft, intended to block the deal, remains ongoing.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Microsoft refuses to sell Call of Duty or parts of Activision Blizzard

Microsoft president Brad Smith said it isn’t feasible for Xbox to sell Call of Duty or parts of Activision in response to UK regulators

Microsoft president Brad Smith said it isn’t feasible for Xbox to sell Call of Duty or parts of Activision Blizzard. Bloomberg reports that Smith’s comments come after U.K. regulators presented that option as a possible condition for allowing the $69 billion Microsoft-Activision deal to go through. 

Following a closed-door meeting with European Union commissioners in Brussels, he told reporters it isn’t “feasible or realistic to think that one game or one slice of this company can be carved out and separated from the rest.”

During the hearing, Microsoft reaffirmed its commitment to making Activision Blizzard games available to broader audiences. The same day, Xbox and Nintendo signed a 10-year contract to make Call of Duty available on Nintendo Switch if the deal goes through – though what form of the Switch and whether it would be cloud-based or a full install remains unclear. Microsoft also announced an agreement with NVIDIA to make all Xbox Cloud Gaming games available on NVIDIA’s GeForce platform, but only if the deal goes through.

Cloud gaming has been one of the main sticking points in regulators in the U.S., U.K., and Europe allowing the deal to move forward. Their concern is that Xbox, which they believe already has a head start in cloud gaming technology and a broad selection of available titles, would hamper competition on other cloud platforms if they also added Activision Blizzard games, namely Call of Duty, to their service.

Microsoft has yet to issue an official response to the U.K. commission, which is expected to file its full report in April. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against the company to block the merger remains ongoing.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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The best FPS games – the top 17 shooters of all time

We just chose the best 15 first-person shooters.

Once they were a vehicle for tech innovation, then everyone’s favorite storytelling medium. When we all got online, shooters were there to show us why that was exciting. Whenever the newspapers needed a moral panic, shooters were happy to provide one. 

Perhaps more than any other genre, a list of the best shooters tells a story about the medium and what we wanted from it at the time. It’s shapeshifted into something athletes can devote their lives to and fill arenas through their talents, but it’s also been there to ask us uncomfortable questions about what we see on the news. At this point, its library is so rich that it can even parody itself from years past, and to great effect. 

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That makes picking just 17 of them a hard task. So we didn’t – instead we built a vast learning AI, made it play every FPS released since the dawn of time, and provide us an empirical ranking of their quality. 

Okay, that was a lie. Look, we just chose the best 17 shooters, ok? Get off our backs. That does mean just one game from each series though – otherwise you’d be about to read a lot of Quake and Half-Life entries.

Microsoft promises a decade of Call of Duty on Nintendo consoles

Microsoft forged an agreement with Nintendo to put Call of Duty on Nintendo consoles after the Activision Blizzard merger goes through

Xbox has entered an agreement with Nintendo to put Call of Duty on Nintendo devices for at least the next 10 years, Xbox head Phil Spencer announced on Twitter. The agreement comes as some, including Sony, express concern over Microsoft making the perpetually high-selling series a platform exclusive once the company’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes through.

“Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people – however they choose to play,” Spencer said in the announcement. It’s also worth noting that Spencer said Nintendo in particular.

He followed with a second post that said Microsoft will also continue to provide Call of Duty on Steam after the acquisition, assuming the deal faces no serious resistance from the Federal Trade Commission, as Politico previously reported it may.

One recurring concern about the merger is that it gives Microsoft access to one of the most lucrative and prominent FPS franchises. Spencer has repeatedly said Xbox has no plans to make Call of Duty a platform-exclusive, however, and offered Sony a similar 10-year deal, which Sony rejected.

Microsoft has, so far, been upfront about which existing properties it will continue to host on multiple platforms. Minecraft, for example, remained on every available platform and mobile devices after Microsoft purchased Mojang. However, upcoming games from Xbox Studios such as Bethesda, including Starfield, will be Xbox exclusive.

The Microsoft and Activision merger still has a few hurdles to clear before any of these deals can come into effect, though, including in the U.K., where regulators are holding a second round of investigations into the acquisition before approving it.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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