Modern Warfare 3's Content Season detailed

Modern Warfare 3 will be getting five pieces of downloadable content, or "content drops," in the next three months, with a plan of twenty drops total in the next nine months, Activision announced today. This confirms our report last year that the game would receive twenty pieces of DLC. However, there's a slight play on words here. 

According to Activision, the DLC releasing on January 24, which contains the maps "Liberation" and "Piazza," make up the first two content drops, which, after confirming with Activision, means that each map or game mode is a single add-on entity. This if further backed by today's announcement reading, "Activision will release five different content drops on three occasions in January, February, and March..." Again, two of the five are this month. This is not to be confused with the idea that the two aforementioned maps make up a single content drop.

The third content drop will come in mid-February, and the last two of the announced five will hit in March. In addition to each separate content drop, Activision will run "specialized events for real-world prizes throughout the nine-month season." Modern Warfare 3's Content Season will not only release multiplayer maps, but Spec-Ops missions, new game modes, and more.

All content drops will occur once a month for premium ELITE members through September, and March will also see the first Modern Warfare 3 "Content Collection," which will contain the first three month's add-ons for purchase by anyone on Xbox Live.  Details about other platforms and pricing will be coming at a later time.

MW3's spawn system to be updated tonight

By the time you wake up tomorrow, Modern Warfare 3's spawn system will be updated, improving "when, where," and "how" you spawn, Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling tweeted. He also bids farewell to revenge spawns, though I don't know if there will be a going away party for that. There should. Revenge spawns suck.

The update is set to go live 2 a.m. PST tonight, so only the committed will notice the changes as they occur.

Activision to release Call of Duty DLC every few weeks

As we noted last year, Modern Warfare 3 is aiming to release downloadable content in the form of both multiplayer map packs and Spec-Ops content. This is said to span a total of twenty add-ons (the first of which comes out this month), and Activision's Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg tells Wired that the company plans on releasing downloadable content every few weeks.

"The idea of giving people constant incremental playable content and making it so you're never more than a few weeks away from the next new experience within the Call of Duty universe is part of what we're experimenting with," Hirshberg said.

However, DLC released more frequently could mean smaller portions served: "One of the things that was most appealing when we were researching these ideas with consumers is the idea of breaking up the DLC so that it comes more often and more regularly. We want to provide DLC to people more often and also experiment with more of a variety in the forms of playable content."

We've seen in the past that smaller map packs can work, such as Killzone 2 and 3's add-ons, which contained a couple of maps at under $5. However, releasing a $5 pack every few weeks adds up to the non-ELITE member, so we shall see.

Pirates downloaded Crysis 2 the most last year

Crysis 2 will forever be known as 2011's most pirated PC game, with 3,920,000 illegal downloads. That is, according to a recent TorrentFreak report [via PC Gamer], which contains stats pulled from public BitTorrent trackers.

The second most illegally downloaded game from last year was none other than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which comes in at 3,650,000 downloads. Finishing the top three is Modern Warfare 3's direct competitor Battlefield 3, which garnered 3,510,000 downloads.

While these are some jaw-dropping numbers, they are at least a tad smaller than last year, and overall 2011 saw a decrease in illegally downloaded titles when compared to 2010. Quite surprising, given the amount of great games to have been released in the past twelve months.

First Modern Warfare 3 DLC hits ELITE subscribers on January 24

[Update: Above is a screen of one of the maps in the first pack, simply called, "Park."]

Modern Warfare 3's season of downloadable content will begin for Xbox 360 gamers on January 24, Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling announced on Call of Duty ELITE's "Roll Call" program. Specifically, this is for ELITE subscribers on Xbox Live. As usual, the content will hit other platforms at a later time.

Every piece of Modern Warfare 3 DLC is developed by a team consisting of Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Raven Software, and will run the spectrum of multiplayer maps, "Spec Ops" missions, and "a variety of things that players have never seen before." Other than that, no details on the first add-on have been revealed.

Folks can check out "Roll Call" on ELITE, so long as you have a paid subscription.

New playlist, modes hitting Modern Warfare 3 today

Today, Infinity Ward will be adding a few game modes to Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer, as well as instituting tweaks to the "Hardcore" playlist. Additionally, a new "Community Playlist" will be added to the "Public Match" queue, where you can rank-up on "popular or unique private match modes."

The new mode to hit Modern Warfare 3 is "Drop Zone," where the first team to garner 7500 Points occupying the drop zone wins. The team who occupies it will also be rewarded with Care Packages every 15 seconds, and while the team as a whole "owns" the package, any one member can grab it. The Care Packages are also the only way to gain air support here, and all other Point Streaks are disabled.

Per-player, each second in the drop zone adds 20 points to your team's score and 20XP to your stats. So, the more players in the zone means a quicker victory. Kills are worth 50XP. 

In terms of the "Hardcore Team Tactical" playlist, it will also see a few adjustments. First, and foremost, all "Hardcore" variants will be converted to "Ricochet" rules as a response to team-killing. This means that those who fire upon their squad will instead inflict the damage on themselves. 

Lastly, "Headquarters" will now be added to the "Hardcore" suite. 

But, wait. Seriously? A Care Package every 15 seconds?! That's insane! Now, if only we had "Shipment."

Activision owns Redbox's top-rented games of 2011

The people behind the DVD and game rental kiosk Redbox shared what its top-rented games of 2011 were. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Modern Warfare 3 placed..twice, taking the top spot of the list with the Xbox 360 version, and then rounding out the top five by taking fifth with the PlayStation 3 version.

I was quite pleased to see that Techland's Dead Island ranked so high, as even with its faults, it is still a blast to play, and hopefully the rentals contributed to a few more sales. 

Activision also placed a few more times, with Transformers: Dark of the Moon in tenth place, and 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops in ninth. Oddities--lack of Uncharted 3, Batman: Arkham City, and Just Dance 3. Oh, wait, that took second.

PS3 MW3 patch and title update incoming

PlayStation 3 Modern Warfare 3 players--brace yourselves: another hotfix is incoming, hopefully tonight or early tomorrow, which fixes "hitmarker sounds on PS3 also Semtex+Juggernaut rebalance," Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling tweeted [via CVG].

A title update addressing "lag compensation" that will improve host connection is also in the works. Rebalances and connection improvement before the holidays? What else do you want?

Earlier in the week, Modern Warfare 3 received a patch nerfing the likes of FMG9s, Akimbo FMG9s, and more.

Infinity Ward dishing out 5,000-day MW3 bans

Infinity Ward isn't taking your hacking shenanigans in Modern Warfare 3 lightly, and creative strategist Robert Bowling confirmed that the company is issuing 5,000-day bans--or permabans, really--to those who do "something bad."

And that "something bad" includes: Boosting, cheating, hacking, exploiting, inappropriate behavior (racial slurs, abusive language, etc.) or anything else that can be reported in-game, Bowling explained.

Those who know they are doing any one of the actions mentioned best cut it out immediately. That is, if you want to continue playing Modern Warfare 3 into next year.

Akimbo FMG9s, more nerfed in latest MW3 patch; Possible spawn update in future

A new Modern Warfare 3 patch is launching on all platforms yesterday, according to a post on the Call of Duty forums, and it tweaks quite a few weapons. For instance, not only has the FMG9 been nerfed, but their dual-wielding effectiveness has also been tuned a bit, though they were a bit overpowered anyway.

The fire rate for assault rifles with under-barrel attachments has now been "normalized," the Type 95's spread when firing from the hip has been reduced, and those shenanigans you pulled on "Dome" last night have now been fixed. 

Infinity Ward also listed what could be fixed in future patches, which finally includes an updated spawn system. 

Modern Warfare 3 made a billion bucks faster than Avatar

In addition to beating the five-day sales record, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has grossed $1 billion in just 16 days,  Activision announced today. This is a day sooner than the James Cameron smash hit film, Avatar, which took 17 days to hit the milestone.

Obviously, increasing revenue means an increasing fan base, and Call of Duty is now ranked among franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and even the NFL, which garner tens of millions of people with either each new installment or each subsequent year. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies out on iOS devices today

If you've ever wanted to have the ability to carry a whole bunch of zombies in your pocket, then you'll probably want to check out the new Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies, which released on iOS devices today for $6.99.

Based off the console iteration, Black Ops Zombies was built from the ground up for third-generation iOS systems by Ideaworks Game Studio, and features "a Zombies experience never before seen on mobile platforms," including "Kino der Toten" from Black Ops and 50-levels of "Dead-Ops Arcade."

You'll be able to play alone or co-operatively with up to three others, and even utilize the new voice chat features.

Akin to the original Zombies iOS game, Activision notes that more content, including maps and upgrades, will release in the future.

Rumor: First Modern Warfare 3 map pack has morning wood

Rumors say [via Kotaku] that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's first premium map pack includes five maps--"Morning Wood," "Italy," "Park," "Concrete," and "Overwatch." The rumor also states that "Morning Wood" is not only the biggest map, but the longest map that Infinity Ward has ever worked on for the series, and its shear size completely dwarfs any other map.

Okay, we may have added that last bit, but yes, your rumor for today is that these maps are what the first add-on will contain, and Modern Warfare 2 vets may be familiar with the name "Overwatch."

ELITE is now "up on its feet," says Activision

After weeks of struggle, Call of Duty ELITE is now operational, or "up on its feet," as Activision's Daniel Suarez said to Joystiq.

"It was a lot of hard work from where we were two weeks ago, which was an embarrassing place," Suarez said. "And now we're at a place where we're confident people will be able to enjoy the service."

However, the team is still looking at fan feedback, and in addition to fixing active bugs with ELITE, Suarez noted that Activision is pushing out updates everyday in response to comments on Twitter.

With ELITE in effect on web and consoles, and for both free and paid accounts, Activision is now looking toward releasing the mobile versions of ELITE, and hopes that either the iOS or Android version will be launching next week. "We may stagger with the release of those but likely one of them will launch next week," Suarez added.

In terms of downloadable content, Suarez said details would be coming out soon, as in "the coming weeks." For now, though, be sure to check out the premiere of Friday Night Fights tonight, which pits the US Army against the US Navy in Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer.

Here's what LEGO Modern Warfare 3 would be like

LEGO Batman? Check. LEGO Star Wars? Check. LEGO Harry Potter? Check. LEGO Call of Duty? Well, not yet, but this trailer shows the awesome possibilities!

[Kotaku via GoNintendo]

ELITE garners one million members in six days

Despite the current struggles plaguing the service, Activision announced today that one million members signed up for Call of Duty ELITE in six days, and there are four million members in total to date. Additionally, more than 80,000 ELITE clans have been made, and over 100,000 videos have been uploaded.

Activision compared the time it reached one million members to other subscription services, such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, Sirius XM and Xbox Live, which reached a million members after approximately one year. 

As of now, ELITE is set to be in a good state by December 1, a little under a month since its November 8 launch.

Woman jokingly posts Craigslist ad selling MW3 addicted husband

A Utah woman became so fed up with her husband's addiction to Modern Warfare 3 that she put him up for sale on Craigslist under the posting, "One husband to the highest bidder," The Salt Lake Tribune reports [via GamePro].

Returning home from service in Afghanistan, Kyle Bradley's wife Alyse had only put him up on Craigslist as a joke, with the ad describing Kyle as "easy to maintain, just feed and water every 3-5 hours." Alyse also stated that would-be purchasers would need internet access and enough room for a gaming area.

However, she quickly started receiving emails regarding both the sale of her husband, and the status of their marriage in general. One inquiry even offered "a blue bag of skittles," Alyse said.

Oddly, Kyle stated that Alyse supported him in getting Modern Warfare 3, and that the two even waited on line at midnight together. "It's just funny," he said.

Rule of thumb? Make sure your significant other, be it man or woman, doesn't have your headshot posted on Craigslist or any other related site. 

1,600 Modern Warfare 3 cheaters banned, fix coming soon

Infinity Ward is apparently utilizing the Support class in Modern Warfare 3, as Robert Bowling tweeted that the company has banned 1,600 accounts over the weekend as a result of hacking and cheating, and plans on continuing the ban-spree if necessary.

The hack allegedly involves players descending to the bottom of the level with the ability to shoot enemies while being protected. Bowling said an update for that is in the works, and asks that players continue to report offenders.

600,000 ELITE subscriptions sold through GameStop

GameStop has sold close to 600,000 subscriptions to Call of Duty's new ELITE service to date, retailer president Tony Bartel said to Gamasutra. These sales are contributing to GameStop's digital sales front, which management says will exceed the company's internal expectation of $450 million for the current fiscal year.

"In the case of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, we worked closely with Activision, Sony and Microsoft to pre-order and deliver nearly 600,000 instances of the Modern Warfare ELITE DLC to date," said Bartel.

ELITE is now positioned as one of the company's top 10 launches of the year thus far.

Call of Duty ELITE is the series' new subscription-based social network, which for $50 per year grants players all of Modern Warfare 3's downloadable content and other goodies, though has been off to a shaky start so far.

Yesterday we learned that Modern Warfare 3 broke five-day sales records, garnering $775 million worldwide.

[Image via LA Times]

Modern Warfare 3 grosses $775 million worldwide, breaks five-day sales record

Activision announced today that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 shattered the five-day sales record for movies, books, and video games, grossing $775 million worldwide. That beats the $650 million last year's Black Ops grossed in the same period, and the $550 million 2009's Modern Warfare 2 grossed. 

Modern Warfare 3 also broke two Xbox Live records: having the most concurrent players logged on with 3.3 million unique gamers on launch day, November 8, and clocking in more than 7.0 million multiplayer hours by the end of launch day.

Last year's Black Ops clocked in 5.9 million hours on launch day and had 2.6 million gamers logged on.