Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 officially becomes worst-rated COD in history

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 came out last week after the campaign was available for seven days to those who preordered. So far, opinions are critical and with good reason.

Before the release of Modern Warfare 3 the lowest-scoring Call of Duty went to Vanguard which released in 2021 with a Metascore of 73. When we look at the landscape of recent releases, it certainly seems that the general consensus is changing. The previous iteration, Modern Warfare 2 scored a 75, a full 25 points more than the new release.

But why? Well, it's a combination of several issues; the campaign is short-lived and a mix of uninspiring linear levels with Warzone-style open maps that don't sell themselves well; DMZ seems to have been pushed to the side and relegated below the new Zombies mode which is a stark departure from previous Zombie modes; and then there's the multiplayer which had several maps removed recently because the spawns were completely borked.

So, not a good release for Activision. The problem, which many have discussed, could stem from a combination of this originally being viewed as DLC but expanded into a full release and the 16-month crunch that the game took. Whatever the base reason for the game delivering poorly, let's hope Activision takes more time and care over the next launch, or it won't have been a good purchase for Microsoft.