Huge leak on 'Modern Warfare 3' details

Details concerning 20 multiplayer maps, 12 co-operative maps, and 14 campaign locations for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 have been spilled by video game website Kotaku.

"We're still keeping some major, pivotal moments close to our chest - let's just say we know some things we wish we didn't know," wrote Editor-in-Chief Brian Crecente, adding that content "could be altered or completely cut before the game gets into your hands."

Named locations include New York, London, Paris, Prague, Berlin, Dubai, Washington D.C. and the Kremlin as well as Mogadishu in Somalia, a town in Sierra Leone, and Dharmasala, a city in northern India with close ties to Tibet.

It's said that "the story ties up nearly all loose ends from previous titles" over the course of around 15 missions, introducing a couple of new characters along the way.

Of the 20 multiplayer maps named, only one -- Dome -- shares a name with a previous Call of Duty map, in this instance from 2009's Call of Duty: World at War.

The identification of Paris and New York could be seen as a blow for Modern Warfare 3's prospective rival, Battlefield 3, which focuses on Middle Eastern conflict but also features the same two world capitals.

Kotaku haven't identified their "multiple sources", so it remains entirely possible that some of the information is shared with Activision's prior knowledge.

Back in 2007, the website got into hot water with Sony for leaking details on the PlayStation 3 ahead of time.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is expected to launch on November 8 2011, subject to confirmation, while Battlefield 3 is heading for a similar Fall 2011 window.

Kotaku's reveal of Modern Warfare 3 can be found at http://kotaku.com/5801226.