Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 297 sampled Steam reviews (273 positive / 24 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing11% mention it
- Multiplayer & servers11% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Multiplayer & servers29% mention it
- Story & writing13% mention it
- Controls & UI13% mention it
- Bugs & crashes13% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
88%
65 reviews
5-15h
92%
131 reviews
15-40h
97%
58 reviews
40-100h
93%
27 reviews
100h+
94%
16 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 88 | 6 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 93 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 89% | 83 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 44 | 31 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 93% | 87 | 43 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 123 reviews sampled · 105 total reviews in window · weighted 82.9 up / 6.3 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (79)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 95
“The multiplayer is the strongest it has ever been, and the coop mode has been expanded from an addition to a full-fledged mode. Modern Warfare 3 won't blow away anyone looking for anything new, but it will deliver enough thrills and quality to keep players engaged and coming back for more.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Like a divorced parent trying to win the affection of an only child, the game dishes out rewards with every breath.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer is some of the series' strongest, and the co-op offerings have been expanded tenfold. But the campaign will leave you yearning, wishing that the characters were differentiated by more than thick accents, or that the gameplay tried something more than aim, shoot, take cover, reload, rinse and repeat.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“A refinement of the series that further evidences why, year after year, Activision puts it on a pedestal. If you enjoy shooters, you owe it to yourself to at least give Modern Warfare a chance. If you've been on the fence because of the die-hards, this is the year to dip your toe in the water.”
read full review ↗ - 91
“The biggest problem with Modern Warfare 3 is that it doesn't surprise, aside from the fact that there's more for the solo player to do than you might expect. It feels very safe, which is understandable given the budget and its sales expectations-as well as the rabid fan base that doesn't necessarily want innovation. ”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Nothing new under the sun, that's spot-on. CoD: MW3 is a great game with no innovation. The graphics are outstanding, the sound effects amazing and the multiplayer as good as ever. The short campaign, the poor soundtrack, indestructible background objects and the shallow story, told in a confusing way, are disappointing though. Still, the game is very intense and well done. A must buy for all the fans.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“Looking back over this generation, it can be argued that Modern Warfare reinvented the way we play shooters, and now, Modern Warfare 3 may have come as close as we'll ever get to perfecting it. What few complaints we do have feel negligible in comparison to everything the game does right, and both the campaign and multiplayer components deliver on all fronts. If you've always been hesitant to try Call of Duty, this might be the time to jump in. It honestly doesn't get much better than this.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“One startlingly huge, polished, and downright entertaining shooter experience. Sure, we can come up with a list of things we'd love to see from the series - whether it's a revamped campaign approach or a revitalized game engine and aesthetic - but when everything here is this well-executed and offers so many enduring thrills, it's hard to knock it too much. MW3 absolutely delivers.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Much like its predecessors: a bombastic but brief single player campaign coupled with laser-focused multiplayer.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Feels like a complete package from the start; the three gameplay areas - solo, co-op and multiplayer - all feeling like parts of a cohesive whole, driven by a clear and honed declaration of intent. ”
read full review ↗ - 85
“This is an exciting and rewarding game, but the series' signature thrills have lost some of their luster. Modern Warfare 3 iterates rather than innovates, so the fun you have is familiar. Fortunately, it's also utterly engrossing and immensely satisfying, giving fans another reason to rejoice in this busy shooter season.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“As substantial as they are the changes won't silence committed critics, but for accessible, content-rich action this is still the best first person shooter of the year.”
read full review ↗
The A.V. Club
ZTGD
Worth Playing
The Escapist
Eurogamer
GameSpot
Metro GameCentral…and 67 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
No patch announcements found on Steam yet.