New Medal of Honor Revealed, Delivers Modern Afghanistan Warfare and DICE Multiplayer

Electronic Arts officially announced the promised reboot of its Medal of Honor franchise today, revealing that the long-running shooter series is finally leaving World War II behind.

Instead, the new title--simply referred to as Medal of Honor--will take players to "war-torn Afghanistan," with Electronic Arts promising a "best-in-class single-player campaign" inspired by "real events" and crafted with the assistance of the US Special Operations Community's Tier 1 Operators "to create the most authentic modern war experience."

Medal of Honor will hit PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010, with EA Los Angeles handling the single-player and the Battlefield veterans at EA DICE on multiplayer.

"EA has always been an advocate for telling the soldiers' story. The new Medal of Honor follows that tradition. We felt it was important to tell the story of today's war and today's elite soldiers via today's most relevant medium--videogames," explained EALA general manager Sean Decker. "We are so proud to bring together two powerhouse development teams to make this game a reality; EA Los Angeles and EA DICE. Medal of Honor promises to be an unforgettable entry in the modern shooter genre."

Formed when Electronic Arts combined Medal of Honor series creator Dreamworks Interactive and Command & Conquer developer Westwood, EA Los Angeles has been largely responsible for the Medal of Honor series, with 2015, Inc. having crafted 2002's MoH: Allied Assault. Veterans of 2015 went on to form Infinity Ward, the studio responsible for popularizing the modern warfare setting with 2007's Call of Duty 4.

Provided alongside today's announcement was a brief teaser and some story details:

As for the setting and storyline of the new entry, here's what EA had to say:

Medal of Honor, an all-new first-person shooter game, will introduce the Tier 1 Operator: a relatively unknown entity directly under the National Command Authority who takes on missions no one else can handle. The development team has been working closely with Tier 1 Operators from the US Special Operations Community since the earliest stages of development to create the most authentic modern war experience. Inspired by real events, Medal of Honor reveals the mission of today's most elite soldier - his will, his mindset and his uncompromising professionalism.

More details on Medal of Honor are expected to arrive December 12, when the "world-premier first-look" airs during the Spike TV 2009 Video Game Awards.