MW3 early access release time countdown – when does campaign come out?

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Christmas comes early for Call of Duty fans worldwide with the launch of Modern Warfare 3. Activision’s newest entry comes out this month, and here you will find the MW3 campaign early access release date and time countdown. This is your opportunity to complete the story before multiplayer and zombies arrive with the full package.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is massively exciting. There are lots of confirmed maps and locations at launch for multiplayer, and there are an insane amount of weapons. Fans were able to enjoy the slick and competitive multiplayer in betas during October, but you must know that none of your beta progress will carry over to the full game. Some fans will have an issue with this, yet it’s for the best as it means everyone can start on equal footing.

While all of the above applies to multiplayer, the online component doesn’t launch until after the early access release time for the MW3 campaign. Remember that you can preload the campaign right now for PC and consoles you can begin playing as soon as possible.

MW3 campaign early access release date

The MW3 campaign early access release date is November 2nd. Meanwhile, the full Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 experience featuring multiplayer launches on November 10th.

As for what the campaign offers, Activision’s blog post says it ‘features a seamless integration of missions built around Call of Duty’s signature, cinematic moments that have defined two decades of the franchise’s action-packed, narrative-driven, single-player experiences, and brand-new Open Combat Missions designed to give the player freedom to approach the action in a variety of different ways.

All you need to do to play early access is pre-order the cross-gen bundle on console and the Standard edition on PC. You do not need to buy the most expensive bundle, the Vault edition. If you do want to buy the Vault edition, it costs £99.99/$99.99 and comes with the following bonuses (via PSN store):

  • MW3 for PS4 and PS5/Xbox One and Series X/S
  •   Campaign Early Access
  •   Lockpick Operator Pack
  •   Soul Harvester Weapon Blueprint
  •   Nemesis Operator Pack
  •   2 Weapon Vaults
  •   BlackCell (1 Season)
  •   30 additional Tier Skips

When does the MW3 campaign early access come out?

The release time for the MW3 campaign early access will be 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET/ 5 PM GMT on November 2nd. All of these release times apply to PS4, PS5, and Xbox consoles, and they come courtesy of the PSN and Microsoft stores. It’s the same launch hours for PC on Steam and battle.net, too.

The launch times mean the game is not undergoing a local midnight release for every region. Unfortunately, for Xbox users, this means the common New Zealand trick does not work for Modern Warfare 3. Albeit a little disappointing, the good news is that everyone can team up with Captain Price simultaneously.

Modern Warfare 3 early access release time US

  • 10 AM PT on Thursday, November 2nd
  • 1 PM ET on Thursday, November 2nd

Modern Warfare 3 early access release time UK

  • 5 PM GMT on Thursday, November 2nd
  • 6 PM CET on Thursday, November 2nd

MW3 campaign early access release time AUS

  • 4 AM ACT on Friday, November 3rd

MW3 campaign early access release time NZ

  • 6 AM NZDT on Friday, November 3rd

Modern Warfare 3 campaign early access countdown

To give you an easier time keeping track of the campaign’s early access release, check out our handy countdown timer. Once the timer hits zero, you’ll finally be able to play the latest series entry’s story mode, so stay tuned.

Modern Warfare 3 release time map

If you’re looking to find out when exactly Modern Warfare 3 gets launched, Activision has provided a useful release time map that contains all of the information you need beforehand. According to the CoD publisher’s announcement, MW3 will have a rolling launch for console players, meaning New Zealand, as usual, will be the first country to gain access to it, followed by other regions. Luckily, those on PC will be able to access the game simultaneously with a typical 9 PM PT / 12 AM ET / 4 AM GMT launch.

Here’s how that breaks down per region:

MW3 release time US

PC

  • 9 PM PT on November 9, 2023 (PC)
  • 12 AM ET on November 10, 2023 (PC)

Console

  • 3 AM PT to 10 PM PT on November 9, 2023 (rolling launch for PlayStation and Xbox)

MW3 release time UK

PC

  • 5 AM GMT on November 10, 2023 (PC)

Console

  • 3 AM PT to 10 PM PT on November 9, 2023 (rolling launch for PlayStation and Xbox)

Modern Warfare 3 release time EU

PC

  • 6 AM CEST on November 10, 2023 (PC)

Console

  • 3 AM PT to 10 PM PT on November 9, 2023 (rolling launch for PlayStation and Xbox)

Modern Warfare 3 release time Aus

PC

  • 4 PM AEDT on November 10, 2023 (PC)

Console

  • 3 AM PT to 10 PM PT on November 9, 2023 (rolling launch for PlayStation and Xbox)

Modern Warfare 3 release time NZ

PC

  • 6 PM NZST on November 10, 2023 (PC)

Console

  • 3 AM PT to 10 PM PT on November 9, 2023 (rolling launch for PlayStation and Xbox)

In other news, we’ve provided a full recap of the Modern Warfare story so far to get you ready for Modern Warfare 3. If you want to learn more about the next series installment ahead of time, check out our comprehensive pages on MW3 maps, MW3 weapons, and the MW3 cast.

About the Author

Callum Smith

Callum Smith is a freelance gaming writer for Videogamer. He covers news for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, and he has over five years experience covering the video games industry.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

  • Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X
  • Genre(s): Action, Shooter