Watch the entire Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer keynote

Here's the keynote from the first ever Call of Duty XP event that details the following: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer, multiplayer, multiplayer, multiplayer, multiplayer, and Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer.

Okay, that was rather lazy of me. My apologies. This nearly hour-long video also talks about the new Elite service, Jeep's sponsorship, and other XP-centric items that are of no use to anybody viewing the video.

Call of Duty Elite "Premium" priced, explained

The "Premium" version of Call of Duty Elite has been priced at $49.99 a year, and while it may sound a bit steep to those who aren't "hardcore" players of the series, those who are could find some good in the package.

It goes without saying at this point, but Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will shell out downloadable content during the course of its life, and Premium members will be able to get access to all add-on packs before they release to the public. 20 pieces of content have been confirmed--including multiplayer maps, Spec Ops maps, and new game modes--and when bought separately there are said to total $60.

Clan support is also being heavily supported, as Premium members will be given the opportunity to level up their clans by kicking ass in tournaments and competitions. Activision's Eric Hirschberg compared this aspect of Elite to a fantasy football team, except that the players you are counting on to win and level up are your real life friends.

Those who love to upload and share videos will be pleased to hear that Premium members will have eight times the amount of save space compared to everybody else. And speaking of videos, expert strategies will be posted regularly on Elite, offering "high production value" content explaining the ins and outs of weapon tactics and map layouts.

There's other bits of content coming to Premium members as well, including Elite TV, a Hollywood-produced series of episodic videos, and Noob Toob, a series with funny men Will Arnett and Jason Bateman which, I won't go into because, who really cares about Jason Bateman?

Also confirmed at XP, the Hardened Edition of Modern Warfare 3 includes a free year of Premium membership to Elite, so those who were already going toward buying the high-end edition of Modern Warfare 3 will get everything noted above for free.

[via Destructoid]

Leaked from XP: Modern Warfare 3 to have 32-player modes

A sneaky somebody invaded the center that will host the first ever Call of Duty XP event, and captured footage of the expo's main attraction, Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer. The video has since been taken down from YouTube, but the folks at SFX-360 took a few screencaps of the footage, revealing quite a few interesting tidbits.

The biggest reveal was the phrase "Max Players: 32," as shown in the image to the right, basically revealing there will be at least two playable game-types supporting 32 players--the first being Team Deathmatch, and the second being the new "Bomb" mode.

SFX-360 also mentioned that Modern Warfare 3 will launch with 13 maps. Unfortunately, a snapshot of the map listing wasn't taken, and with the video having been taken down, there's no proof to support this claim.

Do keep in mind that this all comes from an event that hasn't even started yet. So, while the leaks look and sound convincing, they should still sit in the rumor mill.

If you really wanted to know, here's the history of ziplines featured in Call of Duty games

Okay, this video also goes into detail regarding zipline safety precautions, but a good chunk of it provides a history lesson on the different scenarios in which ziplines were featured in Call of Duty games. In the end, the entire video is a huge advertisement for the zipline that will be featured at the Call of Duty XP event next month. So, there you go, history lessons prove to be marketing at its finest.

Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Harkens back to Call of Duty 4; Less Emphasis on Air Support, more "Gun-on-Gun Gameplay"

Screen of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer

This week in New York City, Infinity Ward's Creative Strategist Robert Bowling revealed some interesting information to Kotaku regarding the multiplayer gameplay of Modern Warfare 3. In short, Mr. Bowling proclaimed that Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer will feel more like 2007's Call of Duty 4, and less like 2009's Modern Warfare 2.

Yeah, I think we can all agree that's a good thing.

There will be less reliance on camping in Modern Warfare 3, as the developers are hard at work constructing maps that only contain around five or so "hotspots"--places on the map where players can either hide or shoot from. Bowling stated that an emphasis on this idea makes it so the "less skilled player" has less to think or worry about on the battlefield. A downplay on hiding spots on the map also de-emphasizes the camping mentality that was heavily portrayed in Modern Warfare 2. Tactical Nuke, anyone?