Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a 2011 first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. The game was released worldwide in November 8 2011 for Microsoft Windows, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and OS X.[1] It is the sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), serving as the third and final installment in the original Modern Warfare trilogy and the eighth Call of Duty installment overall. A separate version for the Nintendo DS was developed by n-Space, while Treyarch developed the game's Wii port. In Japan, Square Enix published the game with a separate subtitled and dubbed version. The game's campaign follows Modern Warfare 2 and begins right after the events of its final mission. Similar to Modern Warfare 2, it is centered on Task Force 141, which contains Captain Price, Soap MacTavish, and a newly introduced playable character, Yuri. Alongside the Delta Force and Special Air Service, they hunt Vladimir Makarov (the main antagonist of the trilogy), a Russian terrorist who leads the Russian Ultranationalist party. He led several terror attacks across Europe, triggering a large-scale war between the Ultranationalists and friendly forces. For the game's multiplayer mode, new mode types and killstreak choices were brought in. Improvements were also made to the mode that solved issues that appeared in Modern Warfare 2.
Using an enhanced version of Modern Warfare 2's IW engine, development for the game began in 2010 with more than one developer studio. Prior to development, Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella left the company to form Respawn Entertainment. Other members had been fired or had left the company following the duo's departure. Sledgehammer Games had joined the Modern Warfare 3 development force, with Raven Software also developing the game's multiplayer mode. Following a large leak containing detailed information about the game, multiple teaser trailers were released, with each showcasing a location featured in the game's campaign, leading up to a full reveal.
Modern Warfare 3 received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its gameplay, campaign, and multiplayer, although there was some criticism for its story and lack of innovation. It won the award for Best Shooter at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, as well as Action Game of the Year at the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. It was a massive commercial success. Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game sold 6.5 million copies in the United States and the United Kingdom and grossed $400 million, contemporaneously making it the largest entertainment launch ever.
