Modern Warfare III: Call Of Duty is back – and childhood fans are now the ones making it

Published

1 year ago

November 3, 2023

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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.”

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.

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.

‘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!”

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.”

‘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.

“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.

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.”

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

Excitement builds for Oscars – but Hollywood still reeling from wildfires

Published

2 hours ago

March 1, 2025

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Excitement builds for Oscars - but Hollywood still reeling from wildfires

As Hollywood celebrates the film industry at this weekend’s Academy Awards, not far away from where finishing touches are being put to the red carpet, communities are still coming to terms with the impact of the wildfires which ravaged areas of Los Angeles earlier this year.

Prop master Adam Jette – and his wife and son – lost their home in Altadena.

“Even coming back into the neighbourhood is really, really hard,” he tells Sky News.

“You’re coming back to what it is, which is a disaster site, the whole neighbourhood is gone.”

He says he and others in the same position have no choice but to keep going.

“We all have to keep working in order to support ourselves, in order to have our health insurance, in order to be able to move forward and rebuild.

“And yet the only thing you want to do is just, you know, sit there in misery.”

In Hollywood, few productions have had to be paused because less is being shot here these days, the fires adding to the existential crisis the city was already facing.

Wes Bailey’s company SirReel has been renting out film and TV production equipment in Los Angeles since the 1990s – but in recent years work in the city of dreams has dried up.

First COVID-19, then strikes and now, after a race for scale to commission content for streaming platforms, the industry is facing a production contraction and Bailey says it needs help.

“The fires were, I think, the catalyst to really get people to say ‘we’ve got an emergency here’,” he says.

“You go into the UK and you get a 40% return on your money.

“I think the way that California delivers that incentive has been sloppy, it’s been inconsistent.”

For glossy reality show Selling Sunset, set around high-end real estate in LA, production has now resumed after pausing when the fires broke out.

One of the show’s stars, Jason Oppenheim, says he’s had “many, many” emotional calls from clients.

“I’m 30% therapist right now, 20% attorney, 20% contractor and 30% real estate agent,” he tells Sky News.

He says Los Angeles has issues that need resolving if it wants to continue to attract investment.

“We obviously have a crime problem, we have a homelessness problem, we’ve obviously taxed to the point where we discourage development, and we obviously have seen significant loss of wealthy people leaving the state.

“If you really want to have a healthy, functioning society that’s egalitarian and creates opportunity for everyone, you’re going to need a lot of wealthy people in that city paying taxes, so you cannot force them away and that’s just a fact.”

Yet despite the frustration, he’s optimistic for the future of the Palisades – another area devastated by the fires.

“I would bet anything that the Palisades will be one of the most desirable areas on the planet to live in five years,” he says.

“The houses will be stunning, fireproof, beautiful architecture.”

But that seems a long way off now, and in the meantime for those left with nothing the little they can salvage becomes special.

For Adam Jette that’s even an iron saucepan.

“To be able to pull anything out of this wreckage and have it, it’s so meaningful,” he says.

“It didn’t take our pets and it didn’t take our family, it just took stuff, but even just some of that surviving it really, it means something.”

Buried in the ashes following the wildfires is a lesson in what matters to those who keep this industry going – and it’s not red carpets or golden statuettes.

Entertainment

Brit Awards 2025: Who is performing, who’s nominated and how to watch

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2 hours ago

March 1, 2025

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Brit Awards 2025: Who is performing, who's nominated and how to watch

Tonight’s Brit Awards are shaping up to be a big night for female British artists, including Charli XCX and Dua Lipa.

The ceremony, which is taking place at London’s O2 Arena, will see artists who are currently dominating the charts come together to celebrate the best in popular music.

Leading nominations with five nods is Charli XCX, whose sixth album Brat was a viral hit last year.

Dua Lipa closely follows with four nominations – along with 2024 rising star winners The Last Dinner Party, and 2023 Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective.

Here is everything you can expect from the biggest night in British music.

What will happen?

Comedian Jack Whitehall is returning to host this year’s ceremony.

It will be his first time at the helm in four years, but fifth in total, after taking on the role for four consecutive years from 2018 to 2021.

There are 16 categories for awards this year, including the big one – album of the year.

In the running for this is Charli XCX – BRAT, The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World, Dua Lipa – Radical Optimism, Ezra Collective – Dance, No One’s Watching and The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy.

Other awards up for grabs include: Artist of the year, group of the year, best new artist, song of the year, international artist of the year, international group of the year, international song of the year, alternative rock act, hip-hop/grime/rap act, dance act, pop act and R&B act.

Last year’s ceremony saw singer-songwriter Raye dominating, with a record number of six wins including a clean sweep of the big three; best artist, best song and best album.

This year, the trophy that winners will pick up on the night has been designed by artist Gabriel Moses.

Who is nominated?

Before the awards have even begun, Charli XCX has been announced as the winner of this year’s songwriter of the year award.

Also recognised is her longtime collaborator AG Cook, winning Brits producer of the year, reflecting the combined impact he and Charli XCX have had on music over the last 12 months.

The singer – whose real name is Charlotte Aitchison – could still pick up another five awards tonight including: pop act, dance act, song of the year, artist of the year and album of the year.

Behind Charli XCX, this year also sees The Beatles pick up a nomination for the song Now And Then.

The song, which was finished by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr with the help of audio restoration and released in November, is the band’s first nomination since 1977.

The Cure are also back with three nominations – following the release of their 14th album, Songs Of A Lost World, in 2024.

International artists such as Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Benson Boone, Chappell Roan and Kendrick Lamar have also all got nods, as well as homegrown talent such as Central Cee, Fred again.., Sam Fender and former Little Mix star JADE.

Sabrina Carpenter will become the first international artist to receive the global success award after breaking records in the UK charts.

The pop star held the top spot on the Official UK Charts for a combined 21 weeks in 2024, the first artist to do so in 71 years.

Her mega-hits Taste, Please Please Please and Espresso held the top three spots simultaneously, making her the first female artist to do so.

Already named as this year’s rising star is British singer-songwriter Myles Smith, whose single Stargazing became one of the UK’s biggest hits of 2024.

You can read the full list of nominations ahead of tonight, right here.

Who is performing?

Taking to the stage at this year’s ceremony is a mix of UK and US artists including Sam Fender, JADE, Teddy Swims and Myles Smith.

Off the back of winning the award for global success, Sabrina Carpenter, will also treat audiences to a performance.

It comes after Carpenter’s slapstick comedy mashup performance at the Grammy’s was dubbed “iconic” by fans.

It is the first year American artists Shaboozey, known for A Bar Song (Tipsy) and Teddy Swims, known for Lose Control, will also perform at the awards.

“I’m beyond grateful and humbled to not only be nominated for a Brit Award but to take the stage,” Shaboozey said.

“This past year has been huge for me with my records getting love from all over the world and now I can celebrate with my friends and fans in London.”

Meanwhile, JADE, whose real name is Jade Thirlwall, said she “manifested” performing at the Brits every day since the release of her debut solo single Angel Of My Dreams last year.

The singer already has three Brit Awards to her name, winning best British single for Shout Out To My Ex, video of the year for Woman Like Me and best British group with Little Mix, but is nominated this year as a solo artist in the song of the year and pop act categories.

Also performing on the night are Lola Young – who is nominated for best pop act – and The Last Dinner Party, who won the Brits rising star award last year.

How to watch

Live coverage of the Brits will start on ITV and ITVX from 8.15pm tonight.

You can also follow along with all the latest from the red carpet and ceremony on Sky News and our dedicated live blog.

For those outside the UK, the show is available to watch internationally on the Brits YouTube channel.

Entertainment

Information from Gene Hackman’s pacemaker suggests he died on 17 February, police say

Published

8 hours ago

March 1, 2025

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Information from Gene Hackman's pacemaker suggests he died on 17 February, police say

Police say it is a “reasonable assumption” that actor Gene Hackman died when his pacemaker had its “last event” on 17 February.

Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in separate rooms of their home in a gated community in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday. One of the couple’s three pet dogs was also found dead near Arakawa.

Their deaths were announced yesterday and an official later said the condition of the bodies indicated the pair had been dead for “several days, possibly even up to a couple of weeks”.

In an update on Friday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said information from Hackman’s pacemaker appears to suggest the day he died.

“The last event [of his pacemaker] was recorded on 17 February 2025,” he said. “According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption, that was his last day of life.”

Mr Mendoza said officials are yet to ascertain when Hackman and Arakawa’s last known contact with other people was.

“That’s one of our challenges because of their privacy,” he said.

Officials will “sift through cell phones”, examine a calendar found near the couple’s bodies and contact workers, family members and security staff, he added.

Mr Mendoza said there were “no apparent signs of foul play” in the deaths of the couple following an autopsy which showed “no external trauma”.

He also confirmed both bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide and said it appears unlikely the deaths were caused by falls.

“There was no trauma indicated, I’m assuming if they had fallen or injured themselves that would have been discovered by the pathologists,” the sheriff said.

Police are still awaiting the full results from the autopsy and toxicology tests – which could take “months or longer”, Mr Mendoza added.

Hackman, a former Marine, appeared in more than 80 films and won two Oscars during his decades-spanning career. He met his wife, a concert pianist, in the mid-1980s and the pair married in 1991.

Tributes to the couple poured in after their deaths were announced, with Prince William labelling Hackman “a true genius of film who brought each and every character to life with power, authenticity and star quality” in a post on X.