Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Maps and Mobile Apps Announced

The best-selling video game of the holiday 2011 season is getting even better this month: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) is being bolstered by its first add-on maps and a new mobile app for both iOS and Android.

New maps: Liberation and Piazza

Two new MW3 add-on maps will ship on January 24 to those COD fans who subscribed to the Call of Duty Elite premium service. These maps are just the beginning of what Activation is calling a "MW3 Content Season" that also includes new Special Ops missions, new game modes, and other content, and will include various DLC (download content) in January, February, and March, and then again for the following six months.

Liberation

So far we only know a bit about two of the maps, which include Liberation and Piazza. Based on a video posted by Activision, these maps look excellent, with Piazza taking place on the coast of Italy and Liberation as a Central Park, Manhattan location.

Piazza

Those who have not subscribed to Call of Duty Elite--and really, shame on you--will get the DLC later, though no dates have been announced, followed by those so-called gamers who for some reason are sticking to inferior platforms like the PC and PlayStation 3. I'm sure they'll get to you eventually. But who cares?

"The mammoth launch of Modern Warfare 3 and the breakout success of Call of Duty Elite were just the beginning," Activision Publishing Eric Hirshberg said. "Call of Duty Elite provides an 'always-on' connection to our fanbase, and the MW3 Content Season is the ultimate way to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Call of Duty community and provide tremendous value to Call of Duty Elite premium members. With the Call of Duty MW3 Content Season for Call of Duty Elite. we are delivering on our promise of more new content, more often, and with more variety than ever. With three studios collaborating on the first season, the breadth and depth of material on tap is truly extraordinary. It's rare you can successfully execute both quantity and quality, but thanks to the expertise of our developers, the reach of Call of Duty Elite and the passion of our fans, we intend to deliver."

Woo!

Mobile app

Activision also announced this week a new Call of Duty ELITE mobile app for both iOS (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad) and Android. While the latter is still on the way, the iOS version is now available from iTunes.

This app lets you check your Career Summary for deep details on your multiplayer activity, analyze your progress over time to see which areas you need to improve in and which areas you excel in, review Recent Matches to track your performance on a match-by-match basis, view and edit your Custom Classes on the go, push your changes into the game so you're ready to play the moment you load up multiplayer, and track your Challenge progress to help you work toward the highest XP gains, according to Activision.

Don't forget to check out my review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and my Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 For Xbox 360 Screenshot Gallery while you're waiting on those first maps.