Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is the 20th installment of the COD series. It is scheduled for release on November 10, 2023, and was developed by Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward and published by Activision. MW3 is a sequel to MW2.
The beta ended on all platforms on October 16th and included four retro maps. The only game modes available were in a 6v6 format; Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, and Ground War.
Here are all of the Modern Warfare III controls that you need to know if you’re playing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or PC.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III PS4, Xbox One & PC Controls
In this Modern Warfare III controls guide, R and L refer to the right and left analogs on the console controllers, while Up, Right, Down, and Left refer to the directions on the D-pad of each console controller.
| Action | PS4 Controls | Xbox One Controls | PC Controls (Default) |
| Movement | L | L | W, A, S, D |
| Aim/Look | R | R | Mouse Movement |
| Aim Down Sight | L2 | LT | Left Click |
| Fire Weapon | R2 | RT | Right Click |
| Interact | Square | X | F |
| Reload | Square | X | R |
| Jump | X | A | Space |
| Stand | X | A | Space |
| Mantle | X | A | Space |
| Open Parachute | X | A | Space |
| Cut Parachute | O | B | Space |
| Crouch | O | B | C |
| Slide | O(while sprinting) | B(while sprinting) | C(while sprinting) |
| Prone | O (hold) | B (hold) | CTRL |
| Sprint | L3(tap once) | L3(tap once) | Left Shift(tap once) |
| Tactical Sprint | L3(tap twice) | L3(tap twice) | Left Shift(tap twice) |
| Steady Aim | L3(tap once while using a sniper) | L3(tap once while using a sniper) | Left Shift(tap once while using a sniper) |
| Switch View – Freelook(While Parachuting) | L3 | L3 | Left Shift |
| Next Weapon | Triangle | Y | 1 or Scroll Mouse Wheel Upwards |
| Previous Weapon | N/A | N/A | 2 or Scroll Mouse Wheel Downwards |
| Mount a Weapon | L2(when close to the windowsill, or wall) | LT(when close to the windowsill, or wall) | Z or Mouse Button 4(when close to the windowsill, or wall) |
| Weapon Mount | L2+R3(to activate) | LT+R3(to activate) | T or Mouse Button 5 |
| Change Fire Mode | Left | Left | B |
| Melee Attack | R3 | R3 | V or Mouse Button 4 |
| Use Tactical Equipment | L1 | LB | Q |
| Use Lethal Equipment | R1 | RB | E |
| Activate Field Upgrade | Right | Right | X |
| Launch / Select Killstreak | Right( – tap to launch Killstreak– hold to open menu & select Killstreak) | Right( – tap to launch Killstreak– hold to open menu & select Killstreak) | K or 3( – tap to launch– hold to open the menu & select Killstreak) |
| Equip Armor | Triangle (hold) | Y (hold) | G |
| Ping | Up | Up | Middle Mouse Button |
| Gesture | Up (hold) | Up (hold) | T (hold) |
| Spray | Up (hold) | Up (hold) | T (hold) |
| Drop Item | Down | Down | ~ |
| Tactical Map | Touchpad | View | Tab (tap) |
| Pause Menu | Options | Menu | F3 |
| Dismiss Pause Menu | Options | Menu | F2 |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Vehicle Controls for PS4, Xbox One & PC
To roll or fly around the map in one of the vehicles in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, you’ll need these controls:
| Ground Vehicle Controls | PS4 Controls | Xbox One Controls | PC Controls (Default) |
| Enter Vehicle | Square | X | E |
| Switch Seats | R3 | X | X |
| Driving | L( – R2 accelerate– L2 reverse) | L( – RT accelerate– LT reverse) | W, A, S, D |
| Drift / Handbrake | X | LB or RB | CTRL |
| Horn | L3 | R3 | G |
| Lean Out / Lean In | O | V | |
| Air Vehicle Controls | PS4 Controls | Xbox One Controls | PC Controls (Default) |
| Ascend | R2 | RT | Space |
| Descend | L2 | LT | CTRL |
| Flight Direction | L | L | W, A, S, D |
| Use Flares | R1 | RB | Left Mouse Click |
What’s New in MW3 + Tips
1. Retro Maps in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
It has been confirmed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III will launch with 16 remastered maps from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 with some small tweaks. Rust, Highrise, Favela, and Estate were the only ones included in the beta. This adds nostalgic excitement to the upcoming release as well as minimizing some of the frustration of learning an entire new roster of maps. Sledgehammer announced that 12 additional brand-new maps are scheduled for release after launch.
2. Weapons in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
MW3 will carry over all the weapons and existing blueprints from both the 2009 MW and 2021 MW2 releases. The beta version includes most of the new weapons such as the Lockwood 680 shown above which is a variant of the Lockwood 800 from MW2.
3. Reload often in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Timing your reloads has always been a huge part of winning in any shooting game. Nothing is worse than hitting your target dead on or catching your opponent off-guard just to have a lack of ammunition in the clip. Any time you are not engaged in a fight, it is imperative to make sure that you have a full clip, especially since it takes more shots to kill in this release due to the HP increase.
4. Build for Accuracy and Power Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III increased player health from 100 to 150 which lengthened the time and amount of shots it takes to kill your opponent. When upgrading weapons try to prioritize accuracy and power to gain an advantage in firefights. Strong, accurate, and fast combat is very important this year due to the buffing of player health.
5. Transfer MW2 Settings in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
In past titles the first few days would require a lot of adjustments to aim sensitivity, key binds on PC, and manipulating graphic settings. Due to the integrated user interface for the past few Call of Duty releases, you can now transfer your current game settings to MW3. This will make it easier to adjust and focus on the new weapons and features instead of fussing with the menus for a week or so.
Also check out: Best weapons in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3