Modern Warfare 3 PC system requirements – here’s what you’ll need to play

Looking for the MW3 PC system requirements? We got you covered. Modern Warfare 3 has arrived, opening its doors to all players. So if you’re curious to know whether your PC will be compatible with the latest Call of Duty installment, we’ve got the official list of system requirements right here.

The good news is that if you were able to run Modern Warfare 2 (2022) smoothly, chances are you might not need to amp up your hardware too much to enjoy MW3 without issues as well. While we go over the system requirements, you might want to see our comparison piece of MW2 vs MW3 as well as our MW3 Season 2 release date hub.

Modern Warfare 3 (2023) system requirements

Activision and Sledgehammer Games have now confirmed the system requirements for MW3, which you can see below. The system requirements are for the full game, but we’ll let you know if anything changes. In the meantime, these requirements for MW3 (2023) are very similar to that of MW2 (2022). So if your PC ran MW2 fine, chances are pretty high that it can run MW3 as well. Those who were just creeping in at the minimum specs last year, however, may need to consider an upgrade. (Check out our best laptop for MW3, Warzone 2 and MW2 in 2023 – our top picks)

MW3 Minimum System Requirements (Multiplayer only)

• CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 / GTX 1650 or AMD Radeon RX 470
• Video Memory: 2 GB
• RAM: 8 GB
• Storage space: SSD with 79 GB available space at launch for COD HQ + MP (34 GB for MP if COD HQ is already installed)
• Hi-Rez Assets Cache: Up to 32 GB
• Sound Card: DirectX-compatible
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update)

MW3 Minimum System Requirements

• CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 / GTX 1650 or AMD Radeon RX 470
• Video Memory: 2 GB
• RAM: 8 GB
• Storage space: SSD with 149 GB available space at launch (78 GB if COD HQ and Warzone are already installed)
• Hi-Rez Assets Cache: Up to 32 GB
• Sound Card: DirectX-compatible
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update)

MW3 Recommended System Requirements

• CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080Ti / RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600XT
• Video Memory: 8 GB
• RAM: 16 GB
• Storage space: SSD with 149 GB available space at launch (78 GB if COD HQ and Warzone are already installed)
• Hi-Rez Assets Cache: Up to 32 GB
• Sound Card: DirectX-compatible
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update) / Windows 11 64-bit (latest update)

MW3 Competitive / 4K Ultra System Requirements

• CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 6800XT
• Video Memory: 10 GB
• RAM: 16 GB
• Storage space: SSD with 149 GB available space at launch (78 GB if COD HQ and Warzone are already installed)
• Hi-Rez Assets Cache: Up to 64 GB
• Sound Card: DirectX-compatible
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update) / Windows 11 64-bit (latest update)

Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward seem to have maintained some aspects of the specifications from Modern Warfare 2, but there have been some increases in the hardware required. Of course, some of this may just be as this build was for the beta, and the launch client may have more optimisations. As mentioned, we’ll keep our eyes open, and if the requirements change come launch we’ll update this piece.

✓ Isa’s remark

A modest requirement

MW3’s system requirements are modest, allowing a broad range of players to enjoy the game. The game’s minimum requirements caters to both mid-range and high-end gaming setups.

However, it’s almost a certainty the game’s disk space footprint will become larger thanks to all the new content in MW3 (2023)’s launch package, including new modes in both campaign and multiplayer, such as the open-world MW3 zombies mode and the open combat missions. All of these and more will be at your fingertips come November.

During the recent CoD Next event, we learned a bunch of new stuff about Modern Warfare 3, including the fact it’ll see the returns of some popular mechanics, such as Reload Cancel and the much-requested return of map voting. Also, be sure to go over our best controller settings for MW3 for an enhanced experience throughout, especially with Season 1 Reloaded update just around the corner.

MW3 system requirement FAQs

Do I need a high-end PC to run MW3?

Modern Warfare3 is designed to run on a range of systems and while high-end PCs will provide better graphics, you can still have an enjoyable gaming experience on a mid-range PC.

Can I play MW3 on Mac?

For now, Modern Warfare 3 is not available to play on Mac.

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