Does Modern Warfare 3 have Hardcore mode?

Liam Mackay
Modern Warfare 3 Operator on Highrise

Call of Duty players who want a more realistic and immersive experience love to play Hardcore mode thanks to its quick time-to-kill and limited HUD. If you’re wondering if Hardcore mode will be added to MW3, here’s what you should know.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 features tons of new weapons you can use on classic MW2 maps from 2009, and you might be looking to level them up in the well-known Hardcore mode.

Players criticized MW2‘s Tier 1 Playlist for being more akin to MW2019’s Realism mode than the traditional Hardcore mode that CoD fans had grown to love. The HUD, hitmarkers, and any indication that a kill had been achieved were all removed. The mode was dropped in the wake of backlash, and the traditional Hardcore mode replaced it.

As Modern Warfare 3 gets ready to arrive on November 10, will it have the classic Hardcore mode? Here’s what you need to know.

Will MW3 have Hardcore mode?

MW3 Operator holding rifle
Hardcore is the perfect place to camo grind.

Yes, Modern Warfare 3 will have Hardcore mode and it’s arriving when the game launches on November 10. This was first revealed back when MW3 was announced, and since then, the devs have confirmed that Hardcore mode is coming at launch. Sledgehammer Games’ last CoD game, Vanguard, featured Hardcore at launch, but Modern Warfare 2 was another story.

Hardcore mode is sure to make weapon progression and camo grinding much easier, particularly for weaker weapons like pistols and battle rifles, where the almost one-shot-kill nature makes basically any long-range weapon viable.

Modern Warfare 2 Season 1 brought the Tier 1 Playlist, then due to backlash, Hardcore mode arrived with February’s Season 2 update. It’s likely that Sledgehammer will have learned from Tier 1’s reception and bring the classic Hardcore mode at launch, but we’ll need to wait and see.

For more on Modern Warfare 3, check out our other guides:

How to get MGB Tactical Nuke Killstreak in Modern Warfare 3 | When is Ranked Play coming to Modern Warfare 3? | Can you slide cancel in Modern Warfare 3? | Modern Warfare 3 War mode explained | Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Zones explained | Modern Warfare 3 Cutthroat game mode explained | How to play Modern Warfare 3 campaign early access

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About The Author

Liam is CharlieIntel's Editor. After graduating in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, Liam made use of his passion for FPS games, including Call of Duty, by writing for sites such as The Nerd Stash, Red Bull Gaming, and GAMINGbible before joining CharlieIntel in November 2020. You can contact Liam at [email protected].