Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III's campaign was reportedly completed in just 16 months

Today, Activision officially launches Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, the latest game in its mega-popular first-person shooter series. However, a new report claims that Activision asked the main developer of the title, Sledgehammer Games, to rush the development of its single-player campaign into a time frame after a plan to make it an expansion of Modern Warfare II was axed.

Bloomberg reports, via unnamed sources, that instead of the normal three-year time frame to make the campaign for Modern Warfare III, its development was cut down to just 16 months. While an Activision spokesperson denied to Bloomberg that Modern Warfare III was originally going to be an expansion for MWII, the report claims that it has spoken to a number of sources confirming both the original plan and its rushed time frame to completion.

The report also says the game caused developers to work nights and weekends to make its deadline, and that many of them thought they were creating an expansion pack until much later in its development.

The campaign for Modern Warfare III was released a week ago for people who pre-ordered the premium versions of the game. However, reviews have not been kind so far, and some even state that it felt like it was rushed. Eurogamer is one of them, stating that it "tapes together ill-conceived open areas, underwhelming linear missions, and a meaningless story." IGN gave the campaign a 4 out of 10, stating it was "Underbaked, rehashed, and cobbled together from multiplayer parts."

After Bloomberg's story was posted, Sledgehammer Games' official X (formerly Twitter) account posted comments from its studio head Aaron Halon. He stated that the team was "incredibly proud of Modern Warfare III" and added:

We have worked hard to deliver on this vision which has been years in the making. Anything said to the contrary is simply not true – this is our game and we cannot wait to play it online with all of you.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III will also be the first game in the series to be launched under Activision's new owner Microsoft. Its likely hoping that the reception to the game's multiplayer and Zombies modes will be better than the campaign section.