Confirming earlier reports, publisher Activision has reaffirmed that the first downloadable map pack for Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will arrive on the PlayStation 3 this Thursday, April 24.

Priced at $9.99, the Variety Map Pack includes four multiplayer maps: Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan).

A code for a free download of the Variety Map Pack will be included in the upcoming Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition re-release. To commemorate today's news, a company representative sent over the accompanying loldog.

Released for the Xbox 360 version earlier this month, the Variety Map Pack went on to set a new record for the Xbox Live Marketplace, exceeding one million downloads in its first nine days of availability. A PC edition of the pack is said to be in the works.

Publisher Activision announced today that the Variety Map Pack for Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare exceeded one million downloads in the first nine days of its release, setting a new record for paid downloads on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The content was released on Xbox Live on April 10, priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The map pack is scheduled to drop on PS3s via the PlayStation Store on April 24.

Composed of four maps, the Variety Map Pack includes Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan).

Infinity Ward announced today that the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360) Variety Map Pack will be released on North American PlayStation 3s on April 24, and in Europe a week later.

The new content, which was released on the Xbox 360 earlier this month, will be available as part of next Thursday's PlayStation Store update at a $9.99 price point.

The map pack includes four multiplayer maps: Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan). For a more intimate look, scope out the recent batch of gameplay videos.

Contradicting word of a delay, developer Infinity Ward claimed that the new Variety Map Pack for the Xbox 360 edition of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is still on track for release later today or early tomorrow.

"As of right now we're pushing certification for an on-time release for April 3rd or 4th," community manager Robert Bowling wrote on his fourzerotwo blog. "It looks like [the maps] should be available late Thursday night / early Friday morning."

Earlier this week, a representative for publisher and studio owner Activision told Shacknews and other outlets that the map pack had been delayed until April 10.

Priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), the downloadable content packs four multiplayer maps: Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan). For a more intimate look, scope out the recent batch of gameplay videos.

The PlayStation 3 release of the map pack will carry the same $10 price point when it arrives in roughly three weeks, with the PC edition possibly following after that.

The upcoming Variety Map Pack for the Xbox 360 version of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will be downloadable from the Xbox Live Marketplace beginning Thursday, April 10, publisher Activision has revealed.

The map pack was previously expected to arrive in the first week of April. An Activision representative confirmed the new date with Shacknews, noting that there had been a slight delay for unspecified reasons.

Priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), the Variety Map Pack contains four maps: Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan). For a closer look, scope out the recent batch of gameplay videos featuring the new environments.

The PlayStation 3 release of the map pack will carry the same $10 price point when it arrives roughly three weeks later, with the PC edition possibly following after that.

A trailer and gameplay videos are now available for the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare downloadable content hitting Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store in April. First up is the teaser trailer offering fly-throughs of the new levels, the gameplay movies follow after the break

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Following up on the teeny-tiny screens released earlier, publisher Activision has issued nine nicely-sized screenshots of multiplayer maps contained within the upcoming Variety Map Pack for Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Containing four maps--Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan)--and priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), the Variety Map Pack will be downloadable from Xbox Live Marketplace on April 3 or 4.

The PlayStation 3 release of the map pack will carry the same $10 price point when it arrives roughly three weeks later, with the PC edition possibly following after that.

Developer Infinity Ward has clarified the release schedule of the first downloadable map pack for its war-centric shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360).

Expanding on earlier vague statements from publisher Activision, Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling revealed that the upcoming Variety Map Map will be available for the Xbox 360 version on April 3 or 4, followed by a PlayStation 3 release roughly three weeks later and a possible PC edition after that.

"Right now plans for the PC version are unannounced but we are working to bring PC users the same content in the future," Bowling wrote on his blog. "Logistics are being worked out on how to make that happen."

Containing four new multiplayer maps--Creek, Broadcast, Killhouse, and Chinatown (a remake of the classic CoD map Carentan)--the Variety Map Pack will sell for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) in the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Marketplace. The PlayStation 3 release of the map pack will carry the same $10 price point when it arrives later in the month.

Update: Publisher Activision has clarified that the Variety Map Pack will be, "available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace exclusively for 21 days."

The phrasing seems to indicate that the map pack may arrive for the PlayStation 3 and PC editions after that time. When reached for more details, Activision told Shacknews that more information would be available near the end of April.

Original Story: Microsoft today announced that the Variety Map Pack for Infinity Ward's shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will hit Xbox Live on April 3.

The date coincides with the release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition, which will include the map pack by way of a token redeemable for a free download. The DLC will run 800 Microsoft Points ($10) for those who own the vanilla Xbox 360 edition.

A pair of small screenshots accompanied the announcement, showing off two of the four new maps that will be included in the pack.

Click on through for a full description of the maps. ... Read more

The latest patch for the Xbox 360 version of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has arrived, bringing with it numerous multiplayer tweaks and fixes.

Changes include new kill cams, host migration in the event a host quits, increased accuracy for sniper and ACOG scopes, and more views for spectators. Players will be automatically prompted to download the update when they attempt to sign into Xbox Live.

As of two weeks ago, the patch for the PlayStation 3 version was in the final stages of development, though no timetable was been provided for its release.

Developer Infinity Ward has completed work on the forthcoming Xbox 360 patch for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare patch and submitted it to Microsoft for testing, with the patch for the PlayStation 3 edition in the final stages of development.

The patches are said to add several new features to the game's multiplayer component, including new kill cams, host migration in the event a host quits, increased accuracy for sniper and ACOG scopes, and more views for spectators.

The details and status updates were reported by Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling via his fourzerotwo blog. Bowling also noted that the developer is discussing several playlist updates, as well as working on the recently announced downloadable maps.

During an awards ceremony last night, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences named Infinity Wards' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360) as 2007's Overall Game of the Year. The title also took three other awards: Console Game of the Year, Action Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play.

Valve's The Orange Box (PC, PS3, X360) was named Computer Game of the Year, while Outstanding Achievement in Game Design, Game Play Engineering, and Character Performance all went to Portal, one of the three new titles contained within the bundle.

Harmonix's Rock Band (PS2, PS3, X360) was honored as Family Game of the Year along with awards for Outstanding Innovation in both Gaming and Soundtrack. Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) took Handheld... Read more

Update: In response to the question of whether the content would also make it to the PC, an Activision representative replied, "We haven't announced anything around the PC, but stay tuned."

Original story: Publisher Activision today announced its intention to release new downloadable multiplayer maps for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4.

The content packs should arrive this spring. No mention of pricing, map details, or a PC release was made in the statement.

"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," said Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling.

Activision should have plenty of customers, as Call of Duty 4 was named the best-selling game of 2007 recently, with sales of over 7 million units worldwide.

A new Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare patch has been released, updating version 1.4 of the game to version 1.5. The 11mb update offers multiplayer bug fixes and additional mod support. A mod tools patch is available as well, which makes the tools work with languages other than English. ... Read more

After tallying figures from sales tracking firms across the world, publisher Activision now claims that Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360) was 2007's best selling game worldwide.

In all, the game sold in excess of 7 million units, according to data compiled from the NPD Group, Chart Track, and the GFK Group. Incredibly, that figure represents less than two whole months of sales, as the game deployed to stores in early November.

Of the overall figure, North American sales of the Xbox 360 version accounted for 3.04 million. The PC version, meanwhile, only sold 383,000 units at North American retailers, though that number does not include sales made... Read more

As had been expected, Infinity Ward had released the mod tools for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The 603mb download includes everything required to make levels, models and mods for the game.

To get people started, Infinity Ward has opened a Wiki with information on using the Call of Duty 4 version of the Radiant level editor. There's also a promise of frequent article additions.

New numbers released by the NPD Group reveal that the Xbox 360 version of Infinity Ward's intense shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare edged out the competition this holiday season, barely beating Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy to become the top selling game in December.

For those interested in how the gift-giving spirit factored into this year's record sales for the industry, the top ten console games for December 2007 follow, in order of units sold:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, X360) - 1.47 million
2. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo EAD Tokyo, Nintendo, Wii) - 1.40 million
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft, Activision, PS2) - 1.25 million
4. Wii Play with Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 1.08 million
5. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft, X360) - 893,000
6. Halo 3 (Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, X360) - 742,700
7. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day (Nintendo, NDS) - 659,500
8. Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts, PS2) - 655,200
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft, Activision, X360) - 624,600
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega Japan, Sega, Wii) - 613,000

Activision sends along the latest Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare patch, updating Infinity Ward's first person shooter to v1.4. The 70mb download offers more bug fixes and game improvements, improved mod support, and a holiday version of the multiplayer map Crash. ... Read more

NPD just released its game industry data for November, and the month containing the infamous Black Friday brought with it an insane level of video game sales across the board. The $2.63 billion brought in by the gaming industry marked a 52% year-over-year increase compared to last November.

Software sales eclipsed hardware sales in both dollar amounts and year-over-year change. The 62% year-over-year increase in software sales brought in $1.31 billion for the month, led by 1.57 million units of Infinity Ward's shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360) for Xbox 360.

Nintendo's Mario Galaxy (Wii) and Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed (PC, PS3, X360) on Xbox 360, both released later in the month, brought in second and third place in sales with 1.12 million units and 980,000 units sold, respectively. Notably absent from the top-10 best-sellers, listed below, is Harmonix's Rock Band (PS2, PS3, X360), which sold a combined 382,000 units across both PS3 and Xbox 360.

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X360, Infinity Ward, Activision) 1.57 million
2. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) 1.12 million
3. Assassin's Creed (X360, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft) 980,000
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock Bundle (PS2, Budcat, Activision) 967,000
5. Wii Play with remote (Wii, Nintendo) 564,000
6. Mass Effect (X360, BioWare, Microsoft) 473,000
7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3, Infinity Ward, Activision) 444,000
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock Bundle (Wii, Vicarious Visions, Activision) 426,000
9. Halo 3 (X360, Bungie, Microsoft) 387,000
10. Assassin's Creed (PS3, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft) 377,000

Comments made in the midst of an online match in Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360) led to the arrest of college student Allieu Shaw earlier this week, reports the Cumberland Times-News.

Shaw, a Frostburg State University student who resides in West Virgina, was playing the game on Xbox Live with the Oregon-based Kaipo Damurand, and the two were communicating via voice chat. Shaw apparently threatened to begin "shooting up the school," and Damurand notified police of the comment.

While police worked with Xbox Live operator Microsoft to track down the location from which the threat originated, area schools were warned of a possible hostile action and operated under a state of alert. Both school staff and students were notified that a threat had been made.

Once arrested, Shaw claimed the threat was a joke, and no weapons were found in his immediate possession. In addition to being temporarily suspended from school, he is being charged with two counts of disrupting a school operation, which, at most, can result in one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.