[UPDATED] MW3 is at GamesCom this week but in what capacity? The 1st news to excite: PC Dedicated Severs confirmed!
This week will play host to GamesCom, an annual gaming convention which is often dubbed the 'European E3'. The event - which is located in Cologne, Germany - opened to members of the media today and will open for the public tomorrow until it completely finishes on Sunday, 21st August.
Expect plenty of coverage on the world's biggest games and platforms, but the question that you're probably asking is "What can we expect to see from Modern Warfare 3?" Well the two founders and community manager of Sledgehammer Games, Glen Schofield, Michael Condrey and Guy Beahm, are all in Germany to attend the event. Throughout the week they've teased new Modern Warfare 3 coverage from the show and today it's been confirmed that they're showing two new Spec Ops levels; a Paris Survival map and a Berlin Mission map.
If you're attending then you'll be delighted to know that you can go hands-on with the game's Spec Ops mode and watch campaign footage in the Theater room. You will also be able to try out Call of Duty Elite as well as take part in a Call of Duty XP pre-qualification tournament, which could land you a free trip to the event so that you can take part in the big $1 million tournament.
Just as GamesCom opened to the media, some big news appeared online. Thanks to MW3Junkie » on our forums for alerting us, it appears that dedicated servers have been confirmed for the PC version of Modern Warfare 3. According to IGN », Activision have confirmed that the PC version of Modern Warfare 3 will have the much-popular dedicated servers. Dedicated servers generally appear to provide a smoother online experience and allows more players to join a match, so you can understand why PC gamers were frustrated with Infinity Ward after Modern Warfare 2.
The PC version of Modern Warfare 2 didn't use dedicated servers, causing PC gamers to thrust their anger at Infinity Ward and Activision via rants, petitions and even boycotts. Call of Duty: Black Ops developer Treyarch saw where Infinity Ward went wrong and included dedicated servers in Black Ops, leading to delight within the community when community manager Josh Olin made the announcement via his t-shirt.
It is strange how only IGN has confirmed this news and neither Activision, Infinity Ward or Sledgehammer Games have commented, so we'll update this post if and when they do, assuming it is indeed an official announcement. Dedicated servers for platforms other than PC hasn't currently been announced.
[UPDATE] As promised, here's an update with official word from Sledgehammer Games which confirms that Modern Warfare 3 on PC will ship with dedicated servers.
Free dedicated servers for #MW3 PC confirmed! We are excited to be bringing this back to Modern Warfare. - Glen Schofield », Sledgehammer Games co-founder
[UPDATE 2] Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert 'fourzerotwo' Bowling has also now confirmed the announcement, before stating that you can still "fave or admin your own to control setup, rules, bans."
Yes! Modern Warfare 3 on PC will support dedicated servers, day 1. You can fav or admin your own to control setup, rules, bans. #MW3 #PC - Robert Bowling », Infinity Ward Creative Strategist