Activision and developers at Sledgehammer Games are gearing up to officially reveal this year's worst-kept secret—Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. As part of the official reveal, players are invited to participate in a special limited-time event in Call of Duty: Warzone.
In a blog post marking the 24-hour countdown to the event, the Call of Duty team called the event the beginning of a new chapter for the franchise. The latest iteration of Modern Warfare will serve as a direct sequel to 2022's Modern Warfare 2, the first time in the Call of Duty franchise's history where two Modern Warfare titles release back-to-back.
While the player experience for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is expected to stand on its own, the team behind the game hopes that players will feel the events in Modern Warfare 3 are an adequate payoff for what Modern Warfare 2 set into motion.
In preparation for the launch of Modern Warfare 3, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Warzone 2 launcher has been redubbed Call of Duty HQ and will serve as a launcher for the current era of COD titles as well as future premium titles. The Call of Duty HQ launcher update can be preloaded in preparation for the August 17 event on all platforms. Here's how you can drop in and experience the Modern Warfare 3 reveal for yourself:
- Gather your 4-person squad. There's no limit to how many times you can play the available mode while it is available, so don't fret if you want to drop in with more than one team.
- Load up the Call of Duty HQ launcher starting at 10:30AM PT/1:30PM PT on Thursday, August 17. Double XP will be active during the event.
- Select the Shadow Siege playlist from the available lineup.
- Pick your loadout.
Once loaded into the Shadow Siege playlist, players must complete an array of challenges. Surprisingly enough, the specific challenge list is one of the better-kept secrets when it comes to this reveal. For those who participated in the Unknown Caller ARG, however, there have been some hints regarding the event taking place around the Zaya Observatory in Al Mazrah, along with some indications that players would be searching for gas canisters as part of a support mission featuring Shadow Company's Commander Graves and Task Force 141's Captain Price.
Finishing the Shadow Siege mission will grant you various rewards, though the actual unlock requirements for any of them are not yet known. The unlocks include:
- 1 battle pass tier skip token
- Konni Group emblem
- Crimson Sound calling card
- Serpent Slayer vehicle skin
- Gas Cannister charm
- AR M13C weapon
The unlocked rewards will be immediately available in Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone. The limited-time Shadow Siege event is expected to be playable for approximately one week. Still, there has not yet been any confirmation from the Call of Duty team as to when it will be pulled from playlist rotations.
