Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Only Had A 16 Month Development Cycle And Began As An Expansion To MW2

According to a report by Bloomberg, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was a rushed project that actually began life as an expansion to shooter Modern Warfare 2. The latter is evidenced by the "bug" many players got on the launch of MW3 where they were asked to insert the disc for MW2.

The MW2 expansion would have taken place in Mexico and was achievable within the timeframe given. Executives, however, rebooted the project into a full sequel without offering additional time for development.

Jason Schreier reports that some staff were promised that this type of crunch would not happen again at Sledgehammer Games, but despite that promise, many were forced to work nights and weekends on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Activision, of course, denies that the project was originally slated as an expansion to MW2, but again I point back to the fact that the game asked for a MW2 disc to be inserted on launch.

Publicly Sledgehammer Games says that they are proud of the game and the upcoming content, because what else are they going to say?

Statement from Aaron Halon, studio head, SHG.
“We’re incredibly proud of Modern Warfare III – both the full game experience at launch and the upcoming year of content we have planned for the community. On behalf of the extremely talented team across Sledgehammer Games and our…

— Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) November 9, 2023

Behind the scenes, however, developers who worked on the game are left feeling frustrated. To further complicate the development process of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Sledgehammer reportedly had to report to Infinity Ward, the studio normally responsible for Call of Duty games. Sledgehammer devs told Bloomberg that they had to deal with inefficiencies waiting on feedback and making significant sometimes unwanted changes based on feedback from Infinity Ward.

Based on the early reviews, it is obvious this was a rushed product that was not ready for primetime. The campaign is short and nearly pointless, while multiplayer has already seen some maps pulled due to poor layouts and spawn changes. Unfortunately, nothing will change as long as players keep buying Call of Duty every time it releases.