Activision has announced their DLC plans for Modern Warfare 3, outlining a new release strategy that will bring 20 new pieces of content to the game over the next nine months.
Central to the company's new approach are "drops", smaller, more regular content releases that will be available to Elite premium members. In what Activision is billing as a season of content, drops will hit regularly and introduce new game modes, missions, and, of course, multiplayer maps.
Due to a timed-exclusivity agreement with Microsoft, 360 Elite subscribers will get the content first, with PC and PS3 releases staggering behind. The first drops, which arrive on January 24 for 360 subsribers, will bring two new multiplayer maps, Liberation and Piazza. Liberation, set in New York's Central park, promises long sight-lines that should provide plenty of fun for snipers. Piazza, by contrast, is set in a hilly seaside village in Italy, and verticality will apparently play a huge role.
Those who don't sign up for Elite's premium service won't be able to take advantage of these frequent updates. Instead, they'll have to purchase traditional DLC packs, which will bundle together content every few months. The first of these will be available sometime in March.
With Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer, and Raven all hard at work on DLC packs, Activision hopes to make Modern Warfare 3 the most content-filled Call of Duty yet.