Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3: Preload, Release Date, Requirements & More

As the year drags on, so does the impatience of gamers. After playing the remade Modern Warfare 2 last year, gamers have been waiting for the latest iteration. Good news has finally come as Activision, along with Sledgehammer, Infinity, and Treyarch, have revealed a new launch trailer after an earlier gameplay trailer for the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. We also got details on the system requirements, preload date and times, and more.

Keep on reading to find out how the COD MW3 gameplay looks, along with campaign details, preload times, release dates, and PC system requirements.

Modern Warfare 3 Release Date

Let’s start with the most anticipated bit of information. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 will be released on November 10, 2023. Players who have pre-purchased Modern Warfare 3 digitally on PC can preload campaign early access beginning on November 1, 2023 at 9:00 AM PT (or 12:00 PM ET, 4:00 PM BST). The release times of the early access launch for Modern Warfare 3 is listed below:

• Pacific Time (PT): November 2, 2023, at 10 am
• Mountain Time (MT): November 2, 2023, at 11 am
• Central Time (CT): November 2, 2023, at 12 pm
• Eastern Time (ET): November 2, 2023, at 1 pm
• Brasília Time (BRT): November 2, 2023, at 2 pm
• Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): November 2, 2023, at 5 pm
• Central European Time (CET): November 2, 2023, at 6 pm
• Eastern European Time (EET): November 2, 2023, at 7 pm
• Moscow Standard Time (MSK): November 2, 2023, at 8 pm
• Indian Standard Time (IST): November 2, 2023, at 10:30 pm
• China Standard Time (CST): November 3, 2023, at 1 am
• Japan Standard Time (JST): November 3, 2023, at 2 am
• Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST): November 3, 2023, at 3 am
• New Zealand Standard Time (NZST): November 3, 2023, at 5 am

The early access is arriving a week early, as the game will be available to play on November 10. Check the image below to learn about the local launch timings of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 in your country:

Call of Duty MW3 Supported Platforms

The game will be released for all major platforms, which include PS5 5, PS4, PC (Battle.net and Steam), Xbox One, and Series X/S. The early campaign access starts on November 2 and the full preloading will start on November 8 till the full launch after 48 hours. You also get a Soap Operator DLC pack with character skins and weapon blueprints.

The game will come in two different editions, which include a Standard and a Vault Edition. While both editions have early access, the Vault edition unlocks more content, such as the BlackCell Season One BattlePass with 50 Tier Skips, the Nemesis Operator pack, and two free weapon vaults. However, you also pay dearly as the COD MW3 Standard costs $70, and the Vault costs a whopping $100.

COD Modern Warfare 3 System Requirements

In a recent blog post along with the MW3 PC launch trailer, Activision released complete details on the official system requirements for Call of Duty MW3 on PC. Find complete details about Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 PC system requirements below:

Minimum Requirements

• OS: Windows 10 64-Bit (latest security update)
• CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400
• RAM: 8 GB
• Hi-Rez Assets Cache: Up to 32 GB
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 / GTX 1650 or AMD Radeon RX 470
• Video Memory: 2 GB VRAM
• Storage: SSD with 149GB available space (78GB if COD HQ and Warzone are already installed)

Recommended Specs

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest security update) or Windows 11 64-bit
• CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
• RAM: 16 GB
• Hi-Rez Assets Cache: Up to 32 GB
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080Ti / RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600XT
• Video Memory: 8 GB VRAM
• Storage: SSD with 149GB available space (78GB if COD HQ and Warzone are already installed)

Competitive / Ultra 4K Specs

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest security update) or Windows 11 64-bit
• CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
• RAM: 16 GB
• Hi-Rez Assets Cache: Up to 64 GB
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 6800XT
• Video Memory: 10 GB VRAM
• Storage: SSD with 149GB available space (78GB if COD HQ and Warzone are already installed)

Other Requirements

• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Sound Card: DirectX-compatible
• Recommended Nvidia Driver: 537.58
• Recommended AMD Driver: 23.10.2

Call of Duty MW3 Campaign Details

For the first time, Modern Warfare 3 comes as a direct sequel in back-to-back years, which has astonished and excited players. The game picks up right where 2 left off, with Task Force 141 (Price, Soap, Ghost, and more) hot on the heels of the Russian villain Vladimir Makarov.

For those unaware, Makarov is the antagonist behind the infamous “No Russian” mission, which tainted a lot of childhoods back in its day. Just a few days ago, the antagonist’s face was revealed in a dedicated Makarov reveal trailer. Now with all the cards on the table, the campaign will be in full swing as the world is propelled into chaos yet again, and the cat-and-mouse chase begins anew.

Open Combat Missions Give Players Room to Gallop

While Call of Duty has given players enough choice to choose their weapons, the new Open Combat Missions in MW3 change the game altogether. In a blog post posted shortly after the trailer, Activision talks about OCMs and how they are an “exciting innovation to the Call of Duty Campaign.” These combat missions will allow players to choose their exact methods of approach before they go on these specific missions.

For instance – Players will be given the choice to either take a full stealth approach that gives them night vision goggles along with suppressed weapons or a frontal assault that will equip them with extra armor plates and heavy firepower. You will also be able to use any operable vehicles within the vicinity to finish the mission. In addition to all that, the OCMs will also support multiple angles and any extra equipment nearby. For players who had been looking for surgical customization, these new missions will be a big part of Modern Warfare 3.

MW3 Multiplayer Mode Details

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 appears to be fully banking on the nostalgia factor as it is carrying over all the original 16 launch maps from MW2 (2009). However, as is expected, they have been graphically remastered and made up to date to fit the modern combat landscape. Other fan-favorite modes are also making a return, including Hardpoint and Kill Confirmed. There is also a new Cutthroat game mode making an entry which will be a 3v3v3 experience.

Besides the core launch maps, other environments are making an entry, including three new Battle Maps. These will be the background for MW3’s Invasion and Ground War game modes, along with a huge War map and a mode of the same name, which was initially in COD: WWII.

New Multiplayer Mode Changes

Apart from the new and old maps, MW3 is also bringing a slew of new features and shifting some mechanics. These features include a new ‘Tactical Stance,’ which is a mode between hip-fire and ADS (aiming down sights). The operator will unshoulder the gun and place it in a canted firing position. While you will gain mobility, you will also lose some accuracy due to the spray. Players will also be able to construct After-Market parts to construct unique weapon configurations to fine-tune the weapon themselves.

There are also some changes to core mechanics. Map voting is making a comeback for players to give them more power. The minimap gets a change with red dots now showing when an enemy fires an unsuppressed weapon. Furthermore, TTK (Time to kill) has been increased as the Core Multiplayer Health has increased to 150.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Zombies

It is not a Call of Duty without Zombies making an entry, and this time it is coming back badder than ever. COD MW3 is bringing team-based modes as players will be able to squad up and “fight massive hordes of the undead in the largest Call of Duty Zombies map ever.” Modern Warfare Zombies will focus on an “unearthly Dark Aether Zombies story.”

Zombies will contain plenty of secrets along with missions across regions that will be harder to beat this time around. There is an open-world player vs. enemy (PvE) extraction experience coming as well, which will pit gamers against unique and tough bosses.