Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Peculiar Launch Process Leaves Players Frustrated

Activision’s Unconventional Approach to Game Launches Sparks Concerns Among PC Gamers

The launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has brought forth an unexpected quirk that has left PC gamers less than pleased. To play the sequel, players are required to first open Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, initiating a rather unique and time-consuming process. This peculiar situation has arisen from Activision’s attempt to centralize all things Call of Duty within Modern Warfare 2, with Modern Warfare 3 being the first game to be placed under this arrangement.

As Modern Warfare 3 made its debut, many Call of Duty enthusiasts found the initial experience underwhelming. An array of issues quickly surfaced, including intrusive full-screen ads, errors like the PS5 version’s “Disc Required,” and a somewhat disappointing single-player campaign. However, one major problem plaguing Modern Warfare 3 was not caused by its development but rather by Activision’s decision to consolidate the Call of Duty franchise into a single application.

Morgan Park from PC Gamer reported that Modern Warfare 3 players on PC are required to launch Modern Warfare 2 in order to play the game. A video was included in the report, detailing the entire step-by-step process players must undertake to access Modern Warfare 3’s campaign:

1. Open the Call of Duty HQ app and launch Modern Warfare 2.
2. Navigate to Modern Warfare 3’s tab within Modern Warfare 2 and click on Campaign, which triggers a prompt from Modern Warfare 2, notifying players that the game needs to restart to initiate Modern Warfare 3’s campaign.
3. Clicking the “Proceed” button on the prompt initiates the launch process, eventually returning with Modern Warfare 3 loaded.

The time spent waiting to play Modern Warfare 3 using this process has been reported to range between 70 to 90 seconds. This duration is based on one player’s experience and may be longer for gamers with different system configurations, particularly those operating on either the recommended or minimum system requirements. This cumbersome process stems from Activision’s decision to emulate its Call of Duty HQ launcher by consolidating all Call of Duty content under Modern Warfare 2. Regrettably, Modern Warfare 3 has become the first victim of this setup.

As Modern Warfare 3 becomes more widely available to the public, this intricate process is expected to frustrate many Call of Duty fans. Whether Activision will address or enhance the way PC players launch Modern Warfare 3 remains to be seen. Regardless of the platform, players will need to contend with the game’s hefty 200GB storage requirement.