Do you need MW2 to play MW3 campaign?

After several sequels, remasters, and even complete remakes, it can be a bit tricky keeping up with Call of Duty from both a technical and lore perspective. If you haven’t been keeping up with them as they release, but are looking to jump into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, be wondering: do you need MW2 to play MW3 campaign?

Is MW2 required to play the MW3 campaign?

Even though the campaign of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was originally intended to be a DLC to MW2, it is not required to play the MW3 campaign. In fact, all of Call of Duty: MW3 is a standalone game, and technically a follow-up sequel to MW2.

Also, even though some of the assets from MW2 are shared and used in MW3, you do not need to own or have MW2 installed to play the MW3 campaign. It will automatically download the files when you install Modern Warfare 3.

Should you play the MW2 campaign before playing the MW3 campaign?

Honestly, yes, you probably should. Even though it’s not necessarily a requirement, the narrative of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 continues right where MW2left off, and is a direct connection. It even features the same characters and progressive story of the previous MW2 campaign.

From a gameplay perspective, you obviously can jump into MW3 and enjoy it without ever having played the previous campaign. However, to fully understand and appreciate the story of the short campaign in MW3, you will definitely want to have played through the previous campaign.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that originally MW3 was intended as a DLC add-on to MW2. So the story directly involves and intertwines between the characters and story of MW2. As such, it’s certainly recommended you play the MW2 campaign before jumping into the MW3campaign.