The next chapter in the Call of Duty video game franchise is the rare direct sequel.

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare lll," coming November 10 to Microsoft Xbox Series X, S and Xbox One, Sony PlayStation 5 and PS4, plus PCs on Battle.net and Steam ($69.99, rated Mature for ages 17-up), picks up the global battle royale storyline from 2022's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II."

It's the first time the first-person shooter franchise has carried forward a story in back-to-back years. Typically, publisher Activision has its various studios create a Call of Duty game every three years, with each having differing story lines. In "Modern Warfare III," developed by Sledgehammer Games, in partnership with Infinity Ward, Captain Price and Task Force 141, must confront Vladimir Makarov, the new villain they learned about after stopping a global threat in 2022's "Modern Warfare II."

The previous chapter was a success, generating $1 billion in sales globally in its first 10 days after its Oct. 28, 2022 release, Activision said. You can pre-order "Modern Warfare 3" on callofduty.com.

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Here are some of the highlights in the upcoming game likely to delight players.

Those who play the online games "Call of Duty: Warzone" or "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" can opt into a special mission providing intel for the MW3 single-player story campaign. It's available in the game until Monday, August 21 at 10:30 a.m. PT/1:30 p.m. ET.

• Weapons unlocked. This will be the first Call of Duty game to let you use weapons and other content previously unlocked in "Modern Warfare II" in the new MW3.
• The return of the Minimap. A red dot will mark when an enemy fires an unsuppressed weapon during multiplayer matches. The feature, which had been in previous games but not last year's release or 2019's "Modern Warfare," had been "the series' best feature," pop culture news site Inverse said. "This will likely encourage a steady flow through matches."
• More multiplayer maps. Activision says MW3's collection is its largest ever with 12 new maps, plus 16 updated maps from the 2009 game "Modern Warfare 2." Also available on launch day: large-scale maps for Ground War, Invasion and One War modes.
• Zombies. Players will be able to team up with other squads to fight zombie hordes in the largest Call of Duty zombies map yet.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider &mikegsnider.

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