Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 release time

A zombie version of Santa Claus stares at the screen in Modern Warfare 3's limited-time Christmas mode — (Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

The Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 release time is nearly here, bringing oodles of what you’ve come to expect from new updates like a Modern Warfare 3 Battle Pass of content, alongside some festive terrors for good measure.

As Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 developer Sledgehammer Game spells out in a blog post, you’re getting new maps, killstreaks, and ranked play. What we’re excited about is the festive shenanigans that are also coming. Introducing Santa Gnaws, Santa’s Slayground is a limited-time mode that’s coming mid-season that’s here to “spread horror and fear.”

“Complete Event Challenges to earn rewards and visit classic, holiday-themed maps, including Shipmas and Hangover! Just try not to get bitten,” the developers say. Expect more information closer to the event’s release as all else is a mystery until now. Whether or not this one can live up to Krampus from the Call of Duty Vanguard and Warzone days remains to be seen, but here’s to hoping.

9am PST
12pm EST
5pm GMT
6pm CET

That’s not all that’s on the way, either. Season 1 also kicks off Warzone’s integration with the new Call of Duty game. That does mean that stats are getting wiped, though the benefit is other neat features like a new map called Urzikstan drops and more guns.

It’s likely worth noting, however, that DMZ isn’t enjoying a similar sort of integration with Modern Warfare 3. You can still play it, though DMZ won’t “interact directly within Modern Warfare III or Call of Duty: Warzone.” That means any progression and MW3 or Warzone content won’t sync or carry back into DMZ.

Here are the best Modern Warfare 3 guns to help you dominate the meta.

I joined GamesRadar+ in May 2022 following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When I'm not running the news team on the games side, you'll find me putting News Editor duties to one side to play the hottest JRPG of 20 years ago or pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new cloak – the more colourful, the better.