After a year of anticipation, after the breakout success of the first-ever Call of Duty® XP live fan event, and after pre-order numbers that toppled even those of 2010's mega-seller Call of Duty®: Black Ops, the ultimate shot has at last been fired. Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 is now available at retail worldwide. Also launching today alongside MW3, is the revolutionary new social gaming network Call of Duty® Elite, conceived expressly to help Call of Duty®'s 30 million devoted fans Play Together Better™.

Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 kicked off its worldwide invasion at midnight as gamers crashed launch parties at over 13,000 retailers from Sydney to London to New York City, intent on being among the first to pull the trigger on the title dubbed "the most anticipated video game in history" by GameStop's Senior Vice President of Merchandising, Bob McKenzie. "This watershed launch extends the legacy of the franchise like no other previous release," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI). "Combining the narrative punch and gameplay innovations of the next chapter in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series with the unique services of Call of Duty Elite will bring Call of Duty gamers together in a cohesive, fan-focused environment like no other."

Co-developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games, Modern Warfare® 3 delivers a full assault on gamers' senses, including an intense single-player campaign that picks up immediately following the events of Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 and escalates into World War 3, as well as groundbreaking upgrades to the beloved Special Ops like the all-new Survival Mode. Special Ops serves as the perfect springboard to Modern Warfare 3's re-imagined multiplayer, featuring the series' trademark visceral gun-on-gun combat, a revamped pointstreak system with the introduction of "Strike Packages," devastating new modes like "Kill Confirmed" and other gameplay enhancements, new features and a bevy of new weapons, equipment, and perks.