A brief audio clip that we believe is a piece of the upcoming Modern Warfare 3 refers to SEAL Team Six, the unit widely assumed to have killed Osama Bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan earlier this month.

It makes perfect sense. America's favorite fighting men would have to get mentioned in the 2011 edition of the jingoistic Modern Warfare series. It is, however, both a likely coincidence and a sign that the new edition of the hottest franchise in video games might again be pushing some provocative buttons before year's end.

The SEAL Team Six reference is barked in an audio file that was part of a larger leak of presumed Modern Warfare 3 images, story details and sound clips provided to Kotaku. Those leaks indicate that Modern Warfare 3 involves a near-future war between the United States and Russia, though it focuses on the operations of elite military units spread around the globe. In the audio file, which can be heard here, a voice of a military operative says: "Seal Team Six was sent in but they lost half their team on infil. We need to strike fast before the Russians can launch a counterattack." The word "infil" is likely shorthand for "infiltration". The rough audio file may be part of the game or part of a promotional campaign around it.

The Modern Warfare 3 leak we received this week includes a summary of each of the missions in the November-scheduled game. None of them feature SEAL Team Six prominently, but the reference we heard takes on increased relevance given the SEAL's post-Bin-Laden elevation to the status of American super-heroes. While we have no indication that the reference was added after the Bin Laden raid—SEAL Team Six, after all, was referenced in the first Modern Warfare—that doesn't mean gamers in November wouldn't interpret it as a tie-in.

With their rise in popularity, the big modern combat first-person shooters that come out each fall have come closer to becoming the topic of mainstream news. They're no longer just mainstream headline material for their sales success but, bit by bit, for their content. Two years ago, Modern Warfare 2 was a national news topic because of the inclusion of an optional mission that enabled the player to participate in the massacre of civilians at a Russian airport. Last year, Medal of Honor made headlines for the planned option to let gamers play as the Taliban against NATO troops in a virtual version of the current war in Afghanistan.

Presumed concept art for a London attack in Modern Warfare 3

From the scraps of story we've seen about Modern Warfare 3, however, the bigger eye-brow raisers may not be any name-checking of the SEALS. According to leaked information, an early mission involving a near-future Russian military assault is tentatively entitled "Black Tuesday" and leads to a battle near the New York Stock Exchange. That could be a reference to the infamous stock market crash of 1929 but would surely also reverberate with New Yorkers who recall the day of the week when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. Another level, set in London, involves terrorist threats, a battle in subway tunnels and a truck bomb in front of the house of Parliament, which sounds like a remix of both perpetrated and foiled terrorist attacks on London in the past decade.

Video game proponents can be expected to defend the validity that their favorite medium should and can be as topical as books, movies or any other form of entertainment. Nevertheless, if the plot goes unchanged from what we've been shown this week, it can be expected that Modern Warfare will exemplify its modernity not just for the caliber of guns its characters wield but for the anxieties with which it intersects.

The Modern Warfare 3 Files: Exclusive First Details on the Biggest Game of 2011

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is coming Nov. 8, 2011, Kotaku has learned, delivering with it mammoth battles that engulf a dozen cities around the world including New York, Paris and London.
Multiple sources have shared details of the game's story, art, sounds and game modes with Kotaku, noting... More »

Where You'll Go, How You'll Kill, and Who Will Die in Modern Warfare 3

We've been gentle so far in our revealing of what we know about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. We've tip-toed through the minefield of spoilers, and tried to reveal only facts anyone would want to know. More »

Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Features Battles in Brooklyn, Clash in Mogadishu

Packed with 15 levels set in locations around the world, from Manhattan to the catacombs of Paris, Modern Warfare 3's near-future campaign looks to be an experience that will top anything seen before in a Call of Duty game. More »

Packed with 15 levels set in locations around the world, from Manhattan to the catacombs of Paris, Modern Warfare 3's near-future campaign looks to be an experience that will top anything seen before in a Call of Duty game.

Multiplayer, too, seems to be shaping up to be an experience packed with new maps, experiences and ways to game.

Sources tell Kotaku that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will have as many as 20 multiplayer maps, though it's unclear if some will be cut before release or perhaps sold later as expansion packs. The game will also include a powerful mix of mission-based and survival Special Ops modes. While the mission-based levels will be designed like the ones made popular in Modern Warfare 2, we're told, the survival maps will have players fighting until they're overcome by increasingly difficult waves of enemies.

While we haven't seen the game in action ourselves, we believe that the imagery is accurate. That doesn't mean things can't change before release.

We've contacted Activision for comment and will update the story when and if they provide reaction.

Multiplayer Maps

• Alpha
• Alps
• Bootleg
• Bravo
• Brooklyn
• Carbon
• Coast
• Dome
• Exchange
• Hardhat
• Interchange
• Lambeth
• Meteora
• Mogadishu
• Paris
• Plaza 2
• Radar
• Seatown
• Underground
• Village

Spec Ops Modes

Survival

• Carbon
• Dome
• Radar
• Seatown
• Village

Mission

• Civilian Rescue
• Flood the Market
• Invisible Threat
• Little Bro's
• Out of Africa
• No Fly Zone
• Wing Man

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Where You'll Go, How You'll Kill, and Who Will Die in Modern Warfare 3

We've been gentle so far in our revealing of what we know about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. We've tip-toed through the minefield of spoilers, and tried to reveal only facts anyone would want to know. More »

The Modern Warfare 3 Files: Exclusive First Details on the Biggest Game of 2011

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is coming Nov. 8, 2011, Kotaku has learned, delivering with it mammoth battles that engulf a dozen cities around the world including New York, Paris and London.
Multiple sources have shared details of the game's story, art, sounds and game modes with Kotaku, noting... More »

We've been gentle so far in our revealing of what we know about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. We've tip-toed through the minefield of spoilers, and tried to reveal only facts anyone would want to know. That ends here.

What follows is a detailed summary of what we understand are the events of Modern Warfare 3 described to us by those in possession of dozens of images from the game, as well as voice over recordings. While we haven't seen the game in action ourselves, we believe that the imagery and this plot description is accurate. That doesn't mean things can't change before release. Levels could be altered or completely cut before the game gets into your hands.

While we're still keeping some major, pivotal moments close to our chest—let's just say we know some things we wish we didn't know—we're about to lay the whole story out for you from beginning to end. Don't read on if you want to experience the narrative of Activision's bombshell shooter free from spoilers.

There are spoilers here. You've been warned.

Modern Warfare 3 opens as Modern Warfare 2 closed: The United States under siege by Russian forces, ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov on the loose, Captain John "Soap" MacTavish and Captain John Price wounded and on the run with the Russian informant known as Nikolai.

Fleeing to a safehouse in Dharmasala, India, the three are attacked by Makarov's men. In this firefight players take on the role of Yuri, a loyalist who works for Nikolai. Their safehouse compromised, the group flee the area in a helicopter.

The game then cuts to Manhattan where Russia is launching an attack on the city from a fleet of ships parked in the Hudson River. (It appears the famous U.S.S. Intrepid may be destroyed.) The U.S. calls in Delta Force to repel the attack. You take on the role of Frost, a Delta Force operative under the command of Sandman. Your goal is to take out a jamming tower on top of the New York Stock Exchange to open the area for a U.S. counterattack.

Following the mission, Delta flies out of the city on a Blackhawk, gunning down enemy choppers as they make their way to the harbor where they have to infiltrate and take down a Russian sub which is coordinating the attack.

As the New York missions wrap up the game jumps forward in time half a year, thrusting players into the role of a Russian agent tasked with protecting the president of Russia as he flies to sign a peace treaty with the U.S. The plane is attacked by hijackers mid-air who attempt to kidnap the president and his daughter. The daughter manages to escape. The president of Russia in hand, Makarov vows to prevent a peace treaty by getting the launch codes out of the president and launching an attack against the U.S.

The game then returns us to Price, Soap and Yuri, now in Africa in a search for Makarov. They meet with a local South African arms dealer who tells them about a shipment of chemical weapons that Makarov is trying to buy. The group make their way to Sierra Leone to secure the weapons from African militia.

Next, players take on the role of an SAS operative who is tasked with stopping a delivery of weapons of mass destruction at a London dockyard. A gun battle ensues, and the agents are chased through the London subway. The mission culminates with a series of unmarked trucks exploding in front of the house of Parliament, releasing a deadly chemical agent.

Several other European cities and military bases are hit by similar terrorist attacks backed by Russia, and the death toll rises to the tens of thousands. The series of chemical attacks opens the door for a Russian military blitz strikes across the continent.

Price discovers that the South African arms dealer who tipped them off about the chemical weapons deceived them and travels to Somalia to find the man and interrogate him. Through the arms dealer, Price discovers that Makarov's right hand man, Volk, is hiding out in Paris.

The game's attention next shifts to Hamburg, Germany where players take on the role of a U.S. tank gunner fighting to push back a Russian advance backed by armored divisions.

As Hamburg falls, the game shifts us back to the story of Price and his crew. Now in Paris, players control Delta Force operative Frost who, with the help of the French special forces, leads an assault on Volk's location in the underground catacombs of the city. Next, players take to the sky supporting Frost's ground movements as a gunner in an AC-130.

After capturing and interrogating Volk, Frost learns that Makarov has a meeting in a Prague hotel. Players control Yuri as he and Soap slip into the Russian-controlled city and set-up an ambush for Makarov in a church bell tower. Makarov somehow catches wind of the trap and escapes. Soap, Yuri and Price then have to fight their way out of the city.

Yuri leads the team to one of Makarov's headquarters in the Czech mountains and the group infiltrates the location, looking for clues. They discover that the ultranationlist has the president and is trying to get the codes out of him. Makarov has also discovered the location of the Russian president's daughter. The group move out to Berlin to try and prevent her kidnapping. Playing as Frost, gamers must find the daughter and protect her, while making their way through war-torn Berlin. The daughter, however, is captured and flown away.

Frost next makes his way to the Kremlin where a task force of operatives attack and free the hostages, but Makarov manages to escape again.

The game's final mission occurs in Dubai, where Yuri, Price and Sandman launch an assault on a heavily guarded hotel, eventually finding Makarov and, yes, finally killing him.

It also appears that the game may also include a post-credits level that features the burning of Washington, D. C.

The stage seems set for a passing of the torch: from player-controlled members of Task Force 141 to the new characters from Delta Force.

We've contacted Activision for comment and will update the story when and if they provide reaction.

*Note, the audio in the video above comes from what we're told was something created for the game's presentation at the upcoming E3 show in L.A. next month.

Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Features Battles in Brooklyn, Clash in Mogadishu

Packed with 15 levels set in locations around the world, from Manhattan to the catacombs of Paris, Modern Warfare 3's near-future campaign looks to be an experience that will top anything seen before in a Call of Duty game. More »

The Modern Warfare 3 Files: Exclusive First Details on the Biggest Game of 2011

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is coming Nov. 8, 2011, Kotaku has learned, delivering with it mammoth battles that engulf a dozen cities around the world including New York, Paris and London.
Multiple sources have shared details of the game's story, art, sounds and game modes with Kotaku, noting... More »

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is coming Nov. 8, 2011, Kotaku has learned, delivering with it mammoth battles that engulf a dozen cities around the world including New York, Paris and London.

Multiple sources have shared details of the game's story, art, sounds and game modes with Kotaku, noting that the game will reshape the landscape of the Call of Duty franchise, bringing an impressive number of eclectic settings, deep multiplayer gaming and a story that ties up nearly all loose ends from previous titles, including the final moments of key figures in the series' history.

While we haven't seen the game in action ourselves, we've gone to great lengths to nail down as much as possible the veracity of our sources. We believe that the imagery and chief details are accurate. That doesn't mean things can't change before release, but this appears to be a full run down of where Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software is on Modern Warfare 3 as they add the final polishing touches.

The game opens moments after the cliffhanger ending of Modern Warfare 2 with the U.S. struggling to stave off a surprise Russian attack. The single-player campaign will ping-pong players around the world as they take on the multiple throwaway roles as a Russian Federal Protective Services agent, SAS Operative, tank gunner, and AC-130 gunner as well as key characters from previous installments and new recurring characters. The game will feature about 15 missions, kicking off with the invasion of Manhattan by a Russian force and wrapping up with a final encounter in Dubai.

The plot, as described, seems to be keeping with developer Infinity Ward's habit of delivering complex, short sequences punctuated by lots of gunfire and scene changes. The game also has players take control of several vehicles, returning gamers to the AC-130 gunship as a gunner and plopping them down in a tank as part of a U.S. Armored Division.

The single-player campaign, which appears to wrap up most of the unanswered questions and character fates of the first two Modern Warfare titles, also introduces new characters who appear to be destined for future Modern Warfare games, especially two Delta Force operatives codenamed "Frost" and "Sandman".

Multiplayer in the game returns with a chunky list of playable maps as well as two types of Spec Ops modes: "Survival" and "Mission".

Activision, the series' publisher, still hasn't officially unveiled any details about the game, though executives have said that a new Call of Duty game was coming this year. Last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops, developed by Treyarch, sold more than 7 million copies in the first 24 hours and within six weeks reached $1 billion in sales.

We've contacted Activision for comment and will update the story when and if they provide reaction.

Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Features Battles in Brooklyn, Clash in Mogadishu

Packed with 15 levels set in locations around the world, from Manhattan to the catacombs of Paris, Modern Warfare 3's near-future campaign looks to be an experience that will top anything seen before in a Call of Duty game. More »

Where You'll Go, How You'll Kill, and Who Will Die in Modern Warfare 3

We've been gentle so far in our revealing of what we know about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. We've tip-toed through the minefield of spoilers, and tried to reveal only facts anyone would want to know. More »

SEAL Team Six, 'Black Tuesday' And Other Modern Warfare 3 Hot Buttons

A brief audio clip that we believe is a piece of the upcoming Modern Warfare 3 refers to SEAL Team Six, the unit widely assumed to have killed Osama Bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan earlier this month. More »

Whether this Samuel L. Jackson soundboard is live (in which case, it must have taken at least two guys) or edited in after the fact, there's little dispute over its comedic value. NSFW language throughout. Part of a series of YouTube Black Ops soundboard videos going back to the beginning of April, including Pee-Wee Herman, Vin Diesel, and the newly single former governor of Cowl-e-forn-eya.

The ultimate paramilitary crossover continues in the fifth(!) chapter of Modern War Gear Solid, which has already merged the worlds of Metal Gear Solid, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Halo into one ridiculously amusing soup.

In the latest (and final?) episode, things reach even more ludicrous heights as Ghost battles Kotickovitch, Snake evolves the cardboard box and the light sabers finally come out. Is this the end of the universe-bending parody series?!

If you missed the Modern War Gear Solid at any point, head over to Beatdown Boogie's YouTube page to catch up or just wait for the inevitable DVD.

Yesterday we told you what we've been told about the yet-to-be announced Modern Warfare 3. Today we're showing you what we've been shown.

Granted this could easily be a photoshop for the game's PC cover, but that logo seems to match what others are saying appears for the game.

Click to expand the image.

Thoughts?

[Thanks Victor]

While still unannounced, sources who have seen the game in action tell Kotaku that the next Call of Duty will be a Modern Warfare 3 that pushes the bar on what people have come to expect from the series. And it hits this fall.

The yet-to-be announced sequel is under development by Infinity Ward, though a swath of those developers left the company in a civil-litigation uprising last year. The team is being assisted by newly minted Activision studio Sledgehammer Games, we're told. We've also heard that Raven Software may be involved.

The Call of Duty series has long alternated between two sets of stories and timelines. The games made by Treyarch have typically been set during the events of World War II, though last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops moved the setting to the Cold War of the 1960s. Starting with 2007's Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward's Call of Duties all took place in a modern day setting.

In the original Modern Warfare, a civil war breaks out in the Russia of 2011. The story continues in Modern Warfare 2, which has a terrorist attack in Russia erroneously linked to the United States. That leads Russian forces to invade the U.S. Some of the missions even feature rolling ground combat in the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Virginia and in the capital itself.

Image of Modern Warfare 2 (Activision)

Key to the near ending of Modern Warfare 2, was the detonation of a nuclear missile in the upper atmosphere above the Mid-Atlantic, something that creates an electromagnetic pulse that destroyed all electronic equipment on both sides of the raging war in D.C. Such an event would cripple the area in the short term, essentially removing the ability to use most technology in the region as the country tries to rebuild or bring in support from other parts of the country. It also seems that it could make the story a hard one to follow in a modern day shooter.

But our sources tell us Modern Warfare 3 will continue along that storyline, delivering a "world in crisis" feel to the aftermath of the U.S. invasion. However, it looks like it won't be another take on Red Dawn, a post-U.S. invasion storyline already explored by Homefront. While it's unclear where specifically the game will be set, Modern Warfare 3 will have a urban setting, much like the U.S. missions in Modern Warfare 2, with military vehicles, including tanks, rolling through suburban streets.

The story may also include prominent characters from Modern Warfare 2, like Captain John "Soap" MacTavish and Captain John Price. Modern Warfare 2 ended with Price, Soap and a Russian informant codenamed Nikolai on the run as international fugitives following their killing of Lieutenant General Shepherd.

The biggest shift for the game appears to be in its breadth. We're told that Modern Warfare 3 will take place on a much larger, epic scale. It appears the game will explore the lead up to a blossoming set of engagements that could pull in other countries, creating a potential World War III scenario. The game will also feature large, urban destructible environments.

Image of upcoming Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts)

The focus on larger maps and destructible environments brings to mind competitor Electronic Arts' Battlefield series which made a name for itself with those two keystones. Battlefield 3 is also set for a 2011 fall release, meaning the two games could in theory be vying directly with one another for gamers' attention. Battlefield 3, as shown by EA in previous events this year, will take place in a modern setting and feature large maps and destructible environments.

We expect to hear more about the Call of Duty series and Modern Warfare 3 this summer during the annual E3 trade show.

We've contacted Activision for comment on this story and will update when we hear back.

Logan Fulton and his pals have put together this short homage to Call of Duty's zombie mode, playing out a round of the game as a live-action fan film that's not afraid to go overboard with the yellow glowing eyes.

It's not made for laughs, this is simply a straight-up recreation of the game mode, down to the on-screen prompts and weapon pop-ups.

Call of Duty's Zombie mode...in real life [GoNintendo]

Today's Activision Blizzard first quarter 2011 financial results call came and went without specific mention of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, but talk surrounding Beachheads buzzword-powered online digital platform indicates it will play a strong role in the next Call of Duty game.

Earlier this year Activision revealed that a new internal studio called Beachhead was working on an integrated online platform for the Call of Duty franchise, providing a "best in class online community" with services that would "supercharge the series like never before".

In today's call, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick used more of the same language in describing the new platform. They spoke of console integrating, connectivity, and exclusive content. They even talked monetization.

"We haven't released the details of the business model for Beachhead," said Hirshberg. "It is the response to the passion people have for the game, the amount that people want to engage one another in a connected way. We want to create an experience that was amplifying enough... to be able to be monetized."

Kotick followed up the monetization by stressing there would also be "A lot of new capabilities and services provided free of charge to our customers."

As for when we'll get to see this elusive Beachhead platform in action, Hirshberg said it would be "an integral part to the innovation signature of the Call of Duty game this year."

The Call of Duty game this year? Why must we dance this dance? We all know it's coming. Out with it, already!