MW3 Somehow Just Got Even Worse

Since its launch last year, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has had a decent amount of controversy, from its incredibly short campaign, poor stealth mechanics, and complaints of lots of reused content. The game’s trophies and achievements also showing up as DLC for Modern Warfare 2 led many to believe the game was intended as an expansion before being released at full price as a standalone title, something that also caused problems for those who had played plenty of hours of Modern Warfare 2 or Warzone 2 and wanted a refund on Modern Warfare 3, as they appeared to be over the Steam refund time limit.

While Sledgehammer Games marketed Modern Warfare 3 as “the first-ever back-to-back sequel in Call of Duty,” a report from Bloomberg‘s Jason Schreier claimed that a dozen employees stated that the game was being developed as an expansion – confirming previous suspicions – and was developed in a crunch-filled 16 months, rather than the usual three-year development cycle most games in the series have. These are some of the reasons that Modern Warfare 3 currently holds a “Mostly Negative” rating from over 10,000 users on Steam, but a new report suggests the game may get even more controversial.

Activision Has Been Accused Of Using AI To Generate Some Of Modern Warfare 3’s Skins

The “Yokai’s Wrath” Skin Seems To Fit The Report’s Timeline, But Isn’t Named Directly

WIRED has published an investigation into how some of the gaming industry’s biggest game developers are integrating the use of generative AI into their game development pipelines. In this report, WIRED’s Brian Merchant stated that Activision Blizzard had secured access to GPT-3.5 and “approved the use of certain generative AI tools in creating concept art and marketing materials” in 2023, something that Insider Gaming‘s Tom Henderson corroborated via a source who worked on the game.

WIRED’s report, titled “AI Is Already Taking Jobs in the Video Game Industry,” is extremely timely in the wake of so many layoffs and studio closures in recent years, despite gaming’s economic might reportedly being even greater than other major entertainment industries such as movies or TV. Just earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it would be laying off 1900 employees at the company, including those at Activision Blizzard.

Some forms of AI have been used in gaming for years now, particularly for the likes of NPC or enemy movements, but these were largely programmed by humans initially. Recently, Artificial Intelligence has become a major talking point in the industry as more AI programs have become accessible, particularly in the artistic space where these tools can be used to steal creators’ artwork to produce new content in a similar artstyle. There has also been controversy surrounding the use of AI to recreate actors’ voices, with Scarlett Johansson taking legal action against ChatGPT creators OpenAI about its AI assistant, Sky, and how its voice resembled the actress’ performance in the 2013 movie Her.

WIRED’s report has revealed that Activision has used AI in the creation of one of its cosmetic packs. Although not named in the article, it does heavily imply that the pack in question is Modern Warfare 3‘s Yokai’s Wrath, an in-store bundle consisting of a character skin, WSP Swarm blueprint, calling card, loading screen, and a sticker, although it did not mention which component was made with AI. This pack launched in December 2023 and retailed for 1,500 CoD Points, which is roughly equivalent to $15.

AI is already a controversial topic, and while unionized writers and actors went on strike last year to try to protect themselves from it in the movie and TV space, the games industry is largely left ununionized – Bethesda became the first studio to unionize earlier this month – and, thus, many of the people working within it, be they actors or artists, are left unprotected. If the report is verified, Activision using AI to generate paid content on a major release like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 could signify a much greater struggle for human talent in the industry if studios continue to see AI as a way to cut down on cost and time, even if the kind of artwork AI can produce currently still has a long way to go to match that of a human.

Sources: WIRED, Insider Gaming, Steam, CoD MW store

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the sequel to the 2022 reboot from the developers at Infinity Ward. Continuing the reboot of the original Modern Warfare trilogy, this third entry takes things in a new direction by introducing open sandbox-like elements to levels, as maps now allow for unique combat missions for players to discover. Classic series staples return and modern imaginings of all of the 2009 installment’s multiplayer maps.

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PS4 , Xbox One

Released

November 10, 2023

Developer(s)

Sledgehammer Games

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

How Long To Beat

5 Hours

Metascore

60

Platforms That Support Crossplay

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S

Split Screen Orientation

Horizontal Only

PS Plus Availability

N/A

Local Co-Op Support

1-2 Players

System

PC , PlayStation , Xbox

Expand