The new Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which is scheduled to be released on Xbox Live in the first week of April (3rd or 4th), was sent off to certification at Microsoft today. The map pack is going to be bringing four new maps to the game with the addition of Creek (seen above), Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (seen below) which is a modern-revision of the classic Carentan from past Call of Duty games.

Along with the new maps next week, we took this opportunity to slip in a change to the Clan Tags in the game along with a few other minor fixes. We heard your cries and will be tweaking the Clan Tags with this DLC patch (which adds support for the new maps). The new Clan Tag update will re-allow you to use special characters in your clan tags, but still prevents the exploit which allowed images (like Left Thumbstick and button images). Thanks to everyone who sent us feedback related to Clan Tags since the feature patch!

While the maps will be hitting Xbox Live the first week of April, PS3 users will STILL be getting the map packs, however it’ll be a little later (21 days later approximately) before they’ll be available on PSN for the same price. Right now plans for the PC version are unannounced but we are working to bring PC users the same content in the future, however logistics are being worked out on how to make that happen.

We also have a cool DLC Hands-on event going on in California, New York, and London I’ll be posting more about today.  Sorry for the slow blog posting week, I’ve been slammed preparing for the release of the DLC, press, and upcoming events for it so I apologize if it’s taken longer than normal to post, or get back to your comments / emails!

The weekly battle for the “Most Played Game on Xbox Live” continues this week with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare still holding the #1 spot for 4 weeks straight and managing to keep Halo 3 from retaking the throne. I had a chance to talk with quite a few of the Bungie guys at GDC this past week, mostly at the Microsoft party, and I could tell that neither one of us were going to slip off the top of the charts without a fight.

With the release of our Feature patch and DLC coming closer and closer every day, and plenty of new playlist ideas being thrown around for Call of Duty 4 multiplayer I know we can keep the fight going for a long long time. I love these weekly number checks because it provides a great opportunity to give you guys a weekly update on how things are going here at the studio with those updates, so with that said…

I got word that the Xbox 360 Feature patch could be ‘very very close’, I can’t tell you exactly when because they haven’t passed on that information but apparently certification went fantastic and I was given the Green light to take care of some things that I have to do before it goes live to you guys, which means good things. I’m not going to get any hopes up, but I hope to be seeing some new Kill Cams by the weekend if we’re lucky. Don’t hold me to that though, but I have a good feeling about it.

The Ps3 Feature Patch has officially made it’s way off to Sony and has been going through the certification process, this one should be a rather quick turnaround hopefully so I’m not expecting too much delay on this at all. I will keep you updated as much as I can on it’s progress.

Hit the jump for DLC talk…

As for DLC, their coming along great. We have a DLC Play test at 5:30 today which is essentially where we all jump in and play games on the new maps. QA plays with us so they test for bugs and glitches, while we play more for the design aspect. For example one of our guys found this killer sniping spot on one of the new maps which is really open where you could basically see around the entire map if on a certain rooftop, so we’re going to jump in there and see if we feel it’s too overpowered or just a really sweet sniper spot. To be fair, the map he found it on is a huge map ripe for snipers anyway, so it may not be that big a deal as there’s plenty of ground coverage and alternate ‘covered’ paths to take.

During this DLC test we’re going to be recording some video of one of the maps for SpikeTV / GameTrailers that I did an interview with last week talking about this specific map. It’s a bit further along with the rests and is a special treat to some of our “loyal” Call of Duty players that I know a lot of you are going to love, especially you Sgt. Payback.
I also have to take three screenshots of the new maps for later on when we start doing promotion, so I have to start scouting out some good angles in the maps to take shots of. We typically like to get a key map landmark in each screenshot on loading screens as you could probably tell that really identifies it as THAT MAP. Which is what I mean by good angle, for example, when you see Bloc, you know it’s bloc because of the statue in the middle and ferris wheel, or Crash because of the Helicopter, and so on and so forth.

Other than that we’re looking at new playlists ideas, possible new gametypes, rulesets, things we can do separate from new DLC that we’re already working on that will keep the game fresh and new for players. Those will probably start showing up a little after the feature patch hits. So if you have ideas for cool playlists keep sending them in for consideration as that’s something we can constantly change, add, take away, etc at any time. I think I already have my favorite that we’ll try out first…

Last week was a busy one, with me being in San Francisco for GDC all week long. While I was up there though I had a chance to talk to a lot of people about the upcoming DLC we’re working on. The overall news of them all though is that there are Three (3) New Maps coming out in Spring for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and most importantly these maps are 100% community inspired. Those who frequent the blog may remember a bit back when I announced we were even working on DLC, I asked you for your input. I said, if it was up to you, what would you like to see?

I’m happy to say, as I’ve been playing the new maps over and over again here at the studio and at home during play tests that a lot of you are getting exactly what you asked for. I can’t wait till I can go into detail about the specific maps, but I can proudly say that your feedback made it in. Another thing I like about this map pack is the fact that it’s bringing completely new locations to the game, so we’re getting away from more desert towns or Russian villages and want to bring you something that brings more variety to the map rotation. You guys are going to love these maps. I tried to drop as many hints as to what you can expect in the following interviews without giving too much away and ruining anything, I’ll be talking a lot more in the future about what you can expect as we start finalizing details and release dates. Right now we’re working on some video stuff for one of the maps and I’ll keep you guys informed on more when I can.

Hit the jump for the a partial interview list from last week.

• Joystiq: http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/22/gdc08-call-of-duty-dlc-will-be-different/
  
• Joystiq: http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/20/gdc08-plenty-of-changes-coming-with-call-of-duty-4-feature-patc/
• PSU.com: http://www.psu.com/GDC–Call-of-Duty-4-+quot;Feature-Patch-Details+quot;-News–a0002812-p0.php
• PSU.com: http://www.psu.com/GDC–Call-of-Duty-DLC—3-New-Maps-News–a0002818-p0.php
• Destructoid: http://www.destructoid.com/gdc-08-infinity-ward-talks-a-bit-about-upcoming-call-of-duty-4-maps-71343.phtml
• QJ.net: http://pc.qj.net/GDC-08-New-Call-of-Duty-4-maps-are-for-everyone/pg/49/aid/114174
• Play.tm: http://play.tm/wire/cluster/1756826
• N4G: http://www.n4g.com/events_gdc2008/News-113667.aspx
• Official Playstation (forums): http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=callofduty3&thread.id=204328
• Xbox 360 Fanboy: http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/02/06/infinity-ward-talks-cod4-multiplayer-balancing/
• Spongy Chicken: http://spongychicken.com/?p=366
• 360 Plex: http://www.360plex.com/news/view/240800/
• Boxxet: http://www.boxxet.com/Call_of_Duty/GDC08_Plenty_of_changes_coming_with_Call_of_Duty_4_feature_patch.1jopql.d
• PS3 Blog: http://www.ps3blog.co.za/2008/02/21/gdc08-plenty-of-changes-coming-with-cod4-feature-patch/
• Bloglog: http://www.bloglog.org/EN/2008/February/20/4.php

I’ve got some big news I know that everyone has been waiting on official confirmation of and I’m excited to let you guys know that we’re currently working on some official new maps for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that are going to be available as DLC in the future for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Last week I let you know that we were on the look out for the best community-made maps, but this week I can let the news out that we’re working on official IW-made maps of our own as well behind the scenes.

These new maps will be adding even more variety to the online multiplayer of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and I’m excited to gradually share more details regarding the new maps as we progress. So keep your eyes tuned to the blog as I’m going to be sharing sneak peek details and insights on what you can expect as we get further and further along with the DLC.

As always, thanks to everyone for your feedback and support. In the spirit of the new DLC announcement, what do you hope to see? Leave a comment and let me know what you’d like to see more of in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare? What kind of maps are you hoping to see?

Full official press release after the jump.

CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE

DOWNLOADABLE MAPS ON THE WAY

Santa Monica, CA – February 4, 2008 – Fresh intel from Activision headquarters (Nasdaq: ATVI) reports that new global conflicts are planned in the form of downloadable multiplayer maps for the award-winning Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™. In development for both Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the upcoming downloadable content will thrust gamers into a hot zone of added combat across a variety of intense multiplayer locales.

“We’ve demonstrated our commitment to delivering the best multiplayer experience in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and that continues with our plans for new downloadable content,” explains Infinity Ward’s Community Manager, Robert Bowling. “We’re excited about the new maps, and the added gameplay variety, and we can’t wait to wrap things up and get online with everyone.”

The worldwide best-selling game in units of 2007, according to The NPD Group, Chart Track and The GFK Group, and winner of more than 40 editors’ choice and game of the year honors, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is rated “M” (Mature) by the ESRB for Intense Violence, Strong Language, Blood and Gore. The new downloadable content is scheduled for release this spring, and will be available on Xbox LIVE® and PlayStation Network.

For information and updates on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, players can visit: www.charlieoscardelta.com.