Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has been a highly publicized release for Activision Blizzard, but not for the reasons the company would like. While millions of users are currently playing it, the recent release from Sledgehammer Games has been a complete and resounding disappointment for both gaming journalists and players alike.
As we explained previously, shortly after the release of Modern Warfare III, social media was ablaze with very harsh criticism of the video game. To begin with, there were players who reported that their PS5 was asking for the Modern Warfare II disc, something that bothered (and surprised) many players and added to the fact that, initially, the trophy list itself appeared as DLC for MWII.
This practically confirmed the widely rumored idea that Modern Warfare III was initially conceived as DLC for MWII, later extending the development to create a full game (something that also happened with the recent Like a Dragon Gaiden, albeit with better results). But that’s not all.
After being sold on the idea that the Modern Warfare III campaign would offer more freedom and an open world, both media outlets and users agree that it’s not exciting at all. They find the plot uninteresting, lasting only about three hours, and, on top of that, riddled with bugs. This is somewhat “understandable” considering Activision only granted the studio 6 months to develop the campaign.
Adding to all this, the multiplayer barely saw any innovation (a huge surprise indeed), resulting in a rather catastrophic outcome: Modern Warfare III is the lowest-rated video game in Call of Duty history, scoring a 53 out of 100 on the Metacritic website, “surpassing” Call of Duty: Vanguard, which currently holds a 73 out of 100.
With Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Activision, it’s unclear whether these results will mark a turning point in the development of a series that has been stretching itself for too many years. And no, I don’t think the presence of an old canine friend in Modern Warfare III will improve the bad image the company has gained solely from this installment.
