Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Hits Highest Steam Player Count for 2024 So Far

gamerant.com:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 achieved its highest Steam player count since the launch of Season 1 in December 2023. When compared to 2022's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 appears to be retaining more players and experiencing a higher level of growth over time.

Following the open beta in October 2023, Modern Warfare 3 launched on November 10, 2023, with its single-player campaign, multiplayer modes, and Zombies mode. The game faced heavy criticism due to several technical issues at launch and a lackluster campaign, but Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer still proved to be a deciding factor for fans that considered purchasing the game after the beta. Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer component received notable improvements to gameplay and customization over Modern Warfare 2, and the inclusion of maps from 2009's Modern Warfare 2 won some lapsed Call of Duty fans over as well. As a result, Modern Warfare 3 became the best-selling game in the US during its launch month, and it outpaced Modern Warfare 2 in sales and overall player engagement.

As spotted by CharlieIntel on Twitter, Modern Warfare 3 reached a new 24-hour peak player count on Steam for 2024 with 166,772 total players on Sunday, April 7. According to Steam Charts, the monthly player count for Modern Warfare 3 on Steam increased by roughly 39.6%, or 47,288 players, during the last 30 days. The new 24-hour peak is the fourth-highest peak for Modern Warfare 3 thus far, and it's the highest player count for the game in 2024 thus far. Despite a drop-off in players at the beginning of the week, the Modern Warfare 3 community is holding steady with over 105,000 concurrent players on Steam alone.

On Twitter, many players believe that the recent free trial period (April 4 to April 8) is the main factor behind the recent increase in Modern Warfare 3's player engagement. During the Modern Warfare 3 free trial, players had full access to the game's multiplayer and Zombies modes without