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Is the Modern Warfare 3 campaign the worst in Call of Duty history?

call of duty modern warfare 3 campaign

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3’s campaign may be the worst yet in the franchise’s long history.

The Call of Duty franchise has always prided itself on its single-player campaigns. In the past, they have even obtained such famed Hollywood actors as Idris Elba and Gary Oldman to play major roles in the narrative campaigns. So when developers didn’t add a single-player campaign for Black Ops 4, many fans were naturally disappointed. 

However, some fans would probably have preferred no campaign at all after what they’ve gotten in Modern Warfare 3. The new campaign is being touted by both critics and players alike as the worst in the franchise’s storied history. 

Why is Modern Warfare 3’s campaign bad?

The Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 campaign is one of the shortest Call of Duty campaigns ever and reuses several assets from Modern Warfare 2.

It was reported earlier in the year that Modern Warfare 3 was being built in the form of add-ons for Modern Warfare 2. Officially, Activision considers Modern Warfare 3 to be a new title. For fans, the game is essentially overpriced DLC, and the campaign is the clearest example of this issue. 

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Several maps and weapons are recycled from Warzone. Previously impactful moments such as the fall of the Eiffel Tower are relegated to undercooked cutscenes. The new campaign missions, instead of being tight and linear experiences, have been converted into slapped-together sandbox objectives, giving the illusion of freedom in an empty world.

This leaves many fans worried about the state of affairs for the upcoming Call of Duty Black Ops 6.

Is Black Ops 6 going to use the same engine as Modern Warfare 2?

It’s likely that Black Ops 6 will use the Modern Warfare 2 engine, which has been used for every Call of Duty title since 2022.

Black Ops 6 might be the first Treyarch-developed title since Call of Duty: Black Ops to use the mainline IW Engine. Ever since Call of Duty Black Ops II, Treyarch has been using a heavily modified version of the IW 3.0 engine called the Black Ops engine. The Black Ops engine is responsible for the unique feel of Treyarch’s title versus those of Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Studios.

The departure of Treyarch’s lead game designer David Vonderhaar from Activision back in August 2023 further complicates matters.  Vonderhaar was not only integral to the identity of Treyarch titles, but also beloved for his interactions with the game’s community. His absence from the next Black Ops title potentially means it won’t be the same as previous Treyarch titles.

If Modern Warfare 3 is the new standard, then the future doesn’t look bright for Black Ops 6 and other Call of Duty games.

Written by Gab Hernandez X Twitter Logo

Gab Hernandez has a particular love for video games that give players control over the narrative direction, such as Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Disco Elysium. Gab spends just as much time playing games as they do gushing about them online to anyone who will listen. Their work has also been seen on TheGamer, Gfinity, and Wargamer, and you can follow them on Twitter / X at @HardlyWorkinGab.

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