Modern Warfare III: Call Of Duty is back – and childhood fans are now the ones making it
Whether it’s a cup of tea on a rainy day, re-watching your favourite sitcom, or pulling on those old pyjamas you really should’ve replaced by now, we all have our own homely comforts.
But for a generation of children of the 1990s and 2000s, nothing says “this is living” like unloading assault rifles and lobbing grenades during online bouts of Call Of Duty (COD).
“It’s like putting on a cosy old jumper,” says long-time fan Sam Jones, who started playing in 2007, aged 11.
“And as I grew older, it became a comfort. You’ve less time, people drop off, find different interests, but I’ve still got a core group of four or five mates who’ve been playing for 15 years.”
Shelby Carlton holds a similar fondness for the franchise, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary.
“I started playing COD, actually the original Modern Warfare, when I was a kid,” she recalls, with a belated apology to her parents for ignoring the game’s age rating.
“I’d have friends over and I have really fond memories of playing those games and making those friendships.”
The original Modern Warfare was released in 2007. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Sixteen years later and she’s the narrative director on Modern Warfare III, which releases on 10 November.
Yes, COD has been around so long that childhood fans are now the ones making it.
This one’s the latest instalment in COD’s Modern Warfare subseries, which returned after a long absence in 2019.
Modern Warfare first ran from 2007 to 2011, ending with its own Modern Warfare III. While the rebooted entries have been unconnected plot-wise, they offer plenty of nods, winks, and references to veteran players.
It makes the new game a fitting way to mark the franchise’s anniversary and show how far the series has come.
The first Modern Warfare III in 2011…
…and the new version for 2023. Pics: Activision Blizzard
Ever-increasing scope
“It feels like it just gets bigger,” says creative director Dave Swenson, who’s worked on COD for north of a decade.
“The army of artists, audio people and designers that come together to make the games is pretty amazing and it’s a huge undertaking over several years to create one.”
Despite the annual release cadence, each COD is a multi-year project for the people who make it.
The franchise calls on three main development studios: Infinity Ward, the original creators of the franchise; Treyarch, which birthed the popular Black Ops subseries; and Modern Warfare III’s team Sledgehammer.
There has been a new mainline entry every year since 2005, while free-to-play COD Mobile on smartphones and Fortnite-like Warzone have also taken on lives of their own.
Call Of Duty debuted in 2003….
…and has released every year since the first sequel in 2005. Pics: Activision Blizzard
‘I met my grooms men on Call Of Duty!’
Tom Lynch is one fan who will always hold Warzone in particularly high regard.
He made such firm friends on the virtual battlefield while stuck at home during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 that they wound up being far more than just squad mates.
“Because we didn’t have anywhere to go, COD became a great social setting to hang out with mates,” he says.
“And it put me in touch with friends I hadn’t seen in a while – and then also met people through the game who ultimately became the groomsmen at my wedding!”
Tom Lynch made friends on COD during the pandemic…
…friends who would become his grooms men. Pic: Julie King Photography
Record revenues
Between the mainline series, Warzone, and the mobile game, it’s no surprise that at last count, there were more than 3,000 people working on the franchise.
Sledgehammer alone has teams spanning the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.
The scale is matched by the revenues, with 2022’s game raking in a record $1bn in its first 10 days on sale.
Johanna Fairies, who manages the franchise at publisher Activision Blizzard, believes the teams have “continued to raise the bar on what ambition looks like”.
“The gaming industry is only getting more competitive,” she says.
“But the annualised cycle has been quite unique to us – to be able to sustain that is a feat unto itself.
“It brings even more meaning to the 20th anniversary.”
COD’s multiplayer has become an e-sports phenomenon
‘An interesting challenge’
Directors Swenson and Carlton are confident they’re on to another winner with Modern Warfare III, which boasts a story-driven campaign and a raft of online multiplayer modes.
The online experience is notable this year for letting players carry over progress from the previous game, while the campaign strives to freshen things up despite an inevitable sense of familiarity.
Swenson is excited by the campaign’s new “open combat missions”, with are far less linear than fans are used to, instead encouraging them to approach objectives as they see fit.
But serving as a direct sequel to 2022’s Modern Warfare II, and also a sort-of remake of 2011’s game, Carlton admits she knew there were specific story beats she had to hit.
Advanced Warfare in 2014 was the first Call Of Duty led by Sledgehammer. Pic: Activision Blizzard
“It’s an interesting challenge,” Carlton says of writing a blockbuster game like this, which begins with an almighty brainstorm session featuring enough whiteboards and post-it notes to fill a terminal.
“You start with the end in mind, work backwards, sometimes you work forwards, sometimes you’re in the middle!”
One nailed-on narrative decision was the return of fan-favourite villain Vladimir Makarov, an ultranationalist Russian terrorist with his mind set on sparking World War III.
Trailers suggest his return coincides with a reimagining of one of the franchise’s most infamous levels, “No Russian”, which tasked players with participating in a mass shooting at a Russian airport in a bid to gain Makarov’s trust.
Swenson and Carlton are keeping their lips sealed on how it plays out this time.
The new game brings back popular multiplayer maps from 2009’s Modern Warfare II. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Real modern warfare
Of course, depressingly, the idea of a new world war erupting from eastern Europe or elsewhere doesn’t feel as innocently escapist as the developers may have thought when Modern Warfare debuted in 2007.
Forget Second World War archive footage, today’s COD writers need only turn on the news to see marching armies, rolling tanks, and toppled buildings that would look right at home in the games.
Creative director Swenson admits his team “can’t help but be inspired by the world around us”, but insists this franchise remains solely concerned with being entertainment.
“There’s real conflict happening in the world today and it’s really heartbreaking,” he says.
“[But] this game is a work of fiction and a story that’s been in the making and we’ve been working on for years.
“As a company, we don’t use this game to make any political commentary or anything like that.”
Read more:
The Ukrainian studio bringing horrors of war to gamers’ attention
COD has found a regular home in WWII, including in 2008…
…and 2021. Pics: Activision Blizzard
Regardless of what the real world has in store over the next year, few things are as assured as COD’s usual October/November release date.
It remains to be seen whether Microsoft’s record takeover of Activision will change the series’ trajectory, but the money involved would suggest a reluctance to stop milking this epic cash cow any time soon.
Whether 2024 sees another Modern Warfare, a return to a prior conflict, or something entirely new, the developers themselves seem to guarantee one thing.
“Bigger” is the only way to go.
Entertainment
Sir Elton John ‘so proud’ of Watford FC as new kit marks 50 years since he became chairman
Sir Elton John has said he is “so proud” of Watford FC as the football club released a new kit marking 50 years since he became its chairman.
The blue shirts and silver shorts will be worn by the Championship team for the first time in their home game against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Watford, who are nicknamed the Hornets, have worn yellow home shirts since 1959.
Pic: Watford FC
Pic: Watford FC
The choice of blue is inspired by the colour Watford wore during the singer’s early days as a supporter.
Speaking in a launch video for the kit, the 78-year-old musician said: “My passion for this club has never died, and I’m so proud of this club, ever since I was five years old when we played in blue and there were two rickety old stands.
“What can I say? It’s in my heart and my soul, you can’t get rid of it. The supporters of this club have always been in my heart.”
The shirt is inspired by the artwork for his Diamonds hits compilation, and features his E logo, an embossed print of the lyrics of his hit track Your Song, and the Happy Hornet badge, which was the club logo when Sir Elton became chairman in 1976.
Complementing the shirt are silver shorts with E taping running down both sides. The silver WFC crest features on the shorts.
Sir Elton remains honorary life president at the club, having left his second stint as chairman in 2002, with Watford crediting the star with changing “the trajectory and future of the club forever”.
During his time as chairman, the club rose from the fourth division to second place in the top flight in the late 1970s and early 1980s, playing European football and reaching an FA Cup final.
Watford are currently managed by Paulo Pezzolano. The team are 14th in the Championship table, having won just one of their first five league matches.
Sir Elton has enjoyed 10 UK number one albums and 10 UK number one singles during his career.
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New Banksy artwork removed from wall in London
Sam Fender, Pulp, and Wolf Alice among Mercury Prize nominees
Sir Elton John at Vicarage Road in 2014. Pic: Reuters
He is best known for songs such as Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Candle In The Wind.
The shirts will be in a special edition gift box, and will be available in the club’s shops and online from 9am on Friday. Fans can pre-order now.
A new Banksy artwork that sprung up at the Royal Courts of Justice in London is being scrubbed off.
The mural depicted a protester lying on the ground holding a blood-spattered placard, while a judge, dressed in a wig and gown, loomed over him while wielding a gavel.
Pic: PA/Banksy
The work was first seen on Monday on an external wall of the Queen’s Building, part of the Royal Courts of Justice complex.
It was covered up and guarded by security staff, with HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) taking the decision to remove it due to the building being listed and therefore legally protected.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
It is understood that work began to remove the image on Tuesday and resumed on Wednesday.
Good Law Project posted on X about the artwork’s removal, stating: “The court is erasing Banksy’s mural just like it’s erasing our right to protest.
“It only took 48 hours for the Royal Courts of Justice to scrub out a Banksy showing a judge striking down a protester with his gavel.
“Silencing a work of art about silencing protest? Maybe it was a little too close to home.”
Banksy confirmed he was responsible for the work with a post on Instagram, showing the graffiti before it was covered over.
The artist, whose identity is the source of constant speculation, captioned the pictures: “Royal Courts Of Justice. London.”
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Pic: PA/Banksy
Banksy is known for his graffiti and performance art pranks.
His Love Is In The Bin artwork – which famously shredded itself after being sold in 2018 – sold at auction in 2021 for £18.5m.
Elsewhere, a Banksy mural removed from the wall of a former shop in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in 2021 was later sold for an undisclosed sum.
At the time, experts said it could have fetched hundreds of thousands of pounds, with rumours swirling it may have gone for up to £2m.
Banksy’s stencilled graffiti is often a comment on political issues, and many of his pieces are critical of government policy, war and capitalism.
The artwork comes after almost 900 demonstrators were arrested for protesting in central London on Saturday against the banning of Palestine Action as a terror group.
It was proscribed by the UK government under anti-terror laws earlier this year.
It makes membership of, or support for, the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, while even wearing a T-shirt or badge with the group’s name on could attract a maximum six-month sentence.
The ban came shortly after two Voyager aircraft suffered around £7m worth of damage at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on 20 June.
Banksy’s artwork also came weeks after the Lady Chief Justice, the most senior judge in England and Wales, repeated concerns for the safety of judges, who she said had been subjected to “increasingly unacceptable sensationalist and inaccurate abuse”.
The work was reported as criminal damage, with the Metropolitan Police stating that inquiries were ongoing.
A HMCTS spokesperson said: “The Royal Courts of Justice is a listed building and HMCTS are obliged to maintain its original character.”
Entertainment
Sam Fender, Pulp, CMAT and Wolf Alice among Mercury Prize nominees for 2025 – as full shortlist revealed
Sam Fender is among the artists in the running for this year’s Mercury Prize as the ceremony heads to his home city – with Pulp also shortlisted for their big comeback, and Wolf Alice breaking a record.
Other acts announced by judges today include the genre-bending FKA Twigs, indie-pop star CMAT and post-punk band Fontaines DC, who are all up for the award for the second time.
Folk musician Martin Carthy is now believed to be the oldest ever nominee at 84 – and joins his daughter, Eliza Carthy, and late wife Norma Waterson, on the list of Mercury Prize shortlist alumni.
FKA Twigs and PinkPantheress (below) are also nominated. Pics: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP – Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP
Other first-timers include Jacob Alon and Joe Webb, who are both nominated for debuts, as well as Emma-Jean Thackray, Pa Salieu and PinkPantheress.
This is a huge year for the event, which will take place outside London for the first time after more than 30 years – at Newcastle‘s Utilita Arena on 16 October.
English Teacher won the prize last year, for their debut album This Could Be Texas. Pic: Sky News
Last year, it was noted by winners English Teacher that they were the first act from outside London to pick up the prize in 10 years. This year’s nominees include artists from Leeds, Sheffield, Gloucestershire, Coventry and Kent, as well as the capital, and more acts from, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
‘Sam Fender shows what is possible’
Sam Fender performing in 2023. Pic: Graham Finney/Cover Images via AP
Ahead of the show, a week-long fringe festival will take place across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Durham and Northumberland to spotlight the North East’s music scene.
One of the biggest stars to emerge from that scene in recent years is of course Sam Fender, from North Shields. The indie-rock singer-songwriter was first nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2022, for his second album, Seventeen Going Under, and returns to the shortlist this year with his third chart-topper, People Watching.
“The success of artists like Sam Fender shows what is possible for young musicians in our region,” North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said earlier this year. “Hosting the Mercury Prize in the North East gives us the opportunity to showcase our home-grown talent.”
Previous Mercury winners Pulp and Wolf Alice are both nominated for the fourth time.
For Wolf Alice, who first made the cut with their debut My Love Is Cool in 2015 and won with their second album Visions Of A Life in 2018 before a third nod for Blue Weekend in 2021, this latest recognition for The Clearing means that every single one of the four albums they have ever released has been in the running.
They previously held this accolade with Laura Mvula and Anna Calvi, who have been both nominated for all three of their studio albums.
Pulp were first nominated for their fourth album His’n’Hers in 1994 and won with Different Class, one of the most famous albums of the Britpop era, in 1996. A nomination for This Is Hardcore followed in 1998 – and now More, their first album in more than 20 years, has earned them a nod once again.
Pa Salieu pictured at the Mobo Awards in 2021. Pic: PA
Former Ivor Novello nominee Pa Salieu receives his Mercury nod for Afrikan Alien, released in November 2024 – just a few months after he was released from prison.
The rapper and singer was convicted in 2022 for his part in an attack which happened in 2018. “I done sh*t I don’t even forgive myself for,” he told British Vogue in an interview when the album was released. He said he had been writing songs in prison. “It’s the lessons you learn. Everyone has a right to learn.”
And CMAT returns for the second year in a row, after being nominated for her second album, Crazymad, For Me, in 2024, and now Euro-Country.
The Mercury Prize launched in 1992, when Simply Red’s Stars, U2’s Achtung Baby, and The Jesus And Mary Chain’s Honey’s Dead were among the nominees – and Primal Scream’s Screamadelica took the inaugural award.
It celebrates music by British and Irish acts and spans a huge range of different musical genres and artists throughout all stages of their careers, from newcomers to veterans.
As well as English Teacher, other recent winners include Michael Kiwanuka, Arlo Parks, Little Simz and Ezra Collective.
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