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Modern Warfare 3 Split-Screen Explained: Campaign, Multiplayer, Zombies

Writer Emma Terry

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 includes split-screen as an option in some game modes. Here’s what to expect with Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies.

Captain Price and John “Soap” MacTavish from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Summary

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 continues the series' reboot, offering a variety of multiplayer modes, a campaign, and Zombies mode.
  • Split-screen options in Modern Warfare 3 are limited, with no split-screen available in Zombies mode or the campaign.
  • While some multiplayer modes offer split-screen, others do not. The lack of split-screen options may push players towards online multiplayer instead.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 continues the series' reboot, meaning that it's not the same as the game with the exact name from 2011. Like other titles, it includes a variety of multiplayer modes, a campaign, and Zombies mode. However, not all of those modes come with split-screen as an option, taking away some of its couch co-op potential in favor of full online options.

Online options have taken away from couch co-op options to the point, in many cases, where it can no longer be expected that games with multiplayer modes or campaigns that support two or more players on the same console. However, there's still a demand for split-screen to be an option for the sake of couch co-op. And while Modern Warfare 3 has split-screen as an option, it's not available for every game mode.

Screenshot from MW3 multiplayer trailer shows a masked soldier standing in the middle of an armory filled with a wide selection of guns and war gear.
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"A Remaster When Renovation Was Needed" - Call Of Duty: MW3 Multiplayer Review
Not even Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's open-world zombie mode can help revitalize a franchise that needed renovation instead of recycled ideas.

Split-Screen Options In Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

CoD: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies modedoesn't have split-screen as an option. MW3 does not have a split-screen option for the campaign mode, either. Multiplayer in MW3 is the only place where there are some options for split-screen, but it's not available in every multiplayer mode. Namely, Ground War, Free-for-All, and Invasions modes in multiplayer don't have split-screen available, but the rest of the modes include it.

The Limitations Of Split-Screen In Modern Warfare 3

A soldier looking stern while bathed in red light. The background has a walled facility with searchlights, but blood-like fluid is splattered up from the bottom.

A split-screen option for CoD: Modern Warfare 3's campaign, at least on consoles where it's easier to implement, could've brought with it an incentive for replaying the missions. Going through the campaign with one person can be a completely different experience, and a couch co-op option creates the opportunity for a night spent hanging out in person while playing MW3. While there's some split-screen availability in MW3, it could've gone a long way as an option for Zombies and the campaign. However, playing online instead of with a split-screen could be a more tempting option for many, especially considering that means having an entire screen and the visibility that comes with it.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 attempts to continue the series' reboot. MW3 brings classic modes like Zombies, but its split-screen options are fairly limited overall, appearing in only select multiplayer modes. However, Modern Warfare 4 could make up for this lack of couch co-op choices, considering that the cliffhanger endings of the campaign will likely be leading into the next game in the reboot to pick up where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 leaves off.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) is available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

  • Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 2023 Game Poster
    Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
    Franchise:
    Call of Duty
    Platform(s):
    PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
    Released:
    2023-11-10
    Developer(s):
    Sledgehammer Games
    Publisher(s):
    Activision
    Genre(s):
    Action, First-Person Shooter
    Prequel(s):
    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
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