Why Modern Warfare 3 Failed to Match the Massive Player Count of MW2 at Launch

Jake Nichols

❘ Published: 2023-11-13T02:59:02 ❘ Updated: 2023-11-13T02:59:15

Modern Warfare 3’s launch has struggled to match Modern Warfare 2’s player count on launch as the game’s rocky start continues.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is here, and its arrival has been met with a wave of criticism from players. Although the game is a direct sequel to 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 release, the game takes fans on a trip down memory lane with the return of all 16 maps from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2.

However, there are some key changes for players who experienced the franchise’s second-ever Modern Warfare game back then, and not all of them have been well-received. The latest release’s increased time-to-kill has been slammed as “horrific” and inconsistent, players are divided on the “boring” new zombie mode, and the new Armory System has been labeled as “horrendous.”

And it now seems that the game’s rocky start, including a highly criticized campaign mode, is being reflected in the major player count dip from Modern Warfare 2’s launch in 2022.

As it stands, Modern Warfare 3 peaked at 190,273 concurrent players on Steam during the game’s launch weekend, reaching those highs on November 12, according to Steam Charts.

Interestingly, MW3’s player count marks a significant decline from Modern Warfare 2’s debut in October 2022, which peaked at 262,875 players on Steam during the game’s launch weekend.

While Modern Warfare 3’s launch numbers are still impressive for a newly released game, it’s a sign that players haven’t been willing to spend their hard-earned money on a game that many had initially confused as DLC.

Of course, this comparison doesn’t take into account the player counts on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, which data has suggested represents close to 70% of the total Call of Duty player count in the past.

If you’ve already snagged Modern Warfare 3 and want to make the most of your experience, look no further than our guides for loadout tips and more:

Best Modern Warfare 3 AR class loadouts | How to slide cancel in Modern Warfare 3 | Best controller settings in Modern Warfare 3 | All MW3 maps & modes | How to play Modern Warfare 3 at 120 FPS on PS5 | Modern Warfare 3 TTK | How long is the Modern Warfare 3 campaign? | MW3 Campaign mission list | How to fix packet burst in MW3 | How to play MW3 Zombies in third person