Summary
- Xbox is using full-screen ads on their consoles to promote the pre-order and early access for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which launches on November 10.
- These ads offer players links to pre-order the game and upgrade to the Vault Edition with additional content.
- Despite some fans being unhappy with recent UI changes, the full-screen ads are not seen as too intrusive since they only appear once and can be closed out.
Xbox players are reportedly seeing full-screen ads for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on their consoles. Following Microsoft's official acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox appears to be pushing its new big IP the week before the game launches.
The latest entry in the historic FPS franchise isn't slated to release until November 10, but the early access release for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is already allowing players to hop in and experience the campaign. Now that the game is officially available to play in some capacity, it appears Microsoft is pushing its big new fall release.
First spotted by VGC, Xbox gamers are seeing full-screen ads for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 when they boot up their consoles. The pop-up offers links to pre-order Modern Warfare 3 and even upgrade to the Vault Edition which includes additional content. Fortunately, the ad doesn't appear to be too annoying as it doesn't return after being closed out.
Regardless of tier, all Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 pre-orders come with early access. In other words, gamers who pre-order Modern Warfare 3 gain access to the campaign up to a week before launch. As today marks a week before the official release of the game and the beginning of early access, it seems as though Xbox is taking the opportunity to remind its fans.
Xbox deployed similar ads for recent first-party releases Forza Motorsport and Starfield, but the full-screen pop-up for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is notable due to the recent acquisition. Everything Xbox is doing with the Call of Duty franchise is uncharted territory at this point. Because the series is such a massive multi-platform hit, fans are likely to scrutinize just about every move Xbox makes. Microsoft has already stated it doesn't plan to make the historic shooter franchise a console exclusive, but there are still many questions to answer. For example, fans are curious as to when Activision Blizzard games will launch on Game Pass. Likely due to the recency of the acquisition, Modern Warfare 3 isn't a day-one Game Pass game like other first-party Xbox titles, but fans will just have to wait and see if future installments are treated similarly.
On the advertisement side of things, Xbox users were already unhappy about recent UI changes, and full-screen announcements for upcoming games aren't likely to help smooth things over. Again, however, these ads are a one-off experience, so the pop-ups likely won't be seen as too intrusive by many fans.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 58 /100 Critics Rec: 14%
- Released
- November 10, 2023
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Sledgehammer Games
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Engine
- iw 9.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
WHERE TO PLAY
The war has changed. Call of Duty returns with an all-new campaign, modernized versions of classic Multiplayer maps and an open-world PvE Zombies experience. The campaign, a direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, sees Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov as he extends his grasp across the world. In Multiplayer, the 16 maps that launched with Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 return with upgraded graphics, new modes and innovative gameplay features. In Modern Warfare Zombies, team up with other squads for the first time ever as you work together to survive in the largest Zombies map yet
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
