Modern Warfare 3 Dodges Poor Reception; Tops UK Boxed Charts

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has taken the top spot on UK boxed charts in its opening week amid fandom-wide criticism. Activision’s latest installment in the shooter franchise is the worst-rated game in the series but that hasn’t stopped it from smashing the boxed sales. However, it still couldn’t manage to outscore last year’s Modern Warfare 2 launch.

The information is revealed in a report by GfK (via GameIndustry.biz) which states the overall state of launch for Modern Warfare 3. Claiming the top spot on UK boxed charts this week, the FPS dethroned Nintendo’s Super Marios Bros. Wonder to the third spot. The chart further reveals that 80 percent of boxed sales were on PlayStation, with 20 percent on Xbox.

Moving forward, despite the outstanding position in the market right now, the latest title fell 25 percent short in sales compared to its predecessor Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launch performance. That significant decline most probably originated from the negative press surrounding the game, which is for a variety of reasons notably its short campaign length, a hefty storage requirement, and the controversy that it is just a Modern Warfare 2 expansion morphed into a standalone game.

A recent report from last week by Bloomberg has claimed that Modern Warfare 3 was in development only for 16 months. Some insiders from developer Sledgehammer Games also reported that they had to work extra hours to meet the deadlines to get the game ready in time, leading to an overall backlash from the community. Following that, the studio head Aaron Halon released a statement denying the accusations, saying the studio is “incredibly proud” to have worked on the project.

Statement from Aaron Halon, studio head, SHG.
“We’re incredibly proud of Modern Warfare III – both the full game experience at launch and the upcoming year of content we have planned for the community. On behalf of the extremely talented team across Sledgehammer Games and our…

— Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) November 9, 2023

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was launched on November 10, 2023, on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. If you’re a newcomer, check out this guide to learn how to level up weapons fast in the game.