'Call of Duty MW3' release date – and why its zombies are causing chaos

"When is the MW3 release date?" is one of the most popular questions right now, so that must mean one thing: it's almost time for the annual Call of Duty launch.

On top of that, the game's ballooning file size is causing more of a ruckus than ever.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III doesn't properly launch until next week, but since video games are weird, some can technically play it right now.

MW3 release date

MW3 officially drops on Nov. 10, but those who have digitally pre-ordered the game have had access to its single-player campaign since Thursday, But when, exactly, can you play the online multiplayer? Here's how it breaks down in terms of U.S. time zones:

• 9 p.m. PT on Nov. 9

• 10 p.m. MT on Nov. 9

• 11 p.m. CT on Nov. 9

• 12 a.m. ET on Nov. 10

The east coast always gets a little screwed with these things, huh?

Anyway, you better start pre-loading the game now because its reported file size is apparently north of 200GB on consoles, per IGN. Call of Duty has had this problem for a few years now, partially thanks to the inclusion of the Warzone battle royale mode, but this is as big as it's ever been. According to the official COD Twitter account, you can blame the new open-world Zombies Mode for this:

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It's worth noting that the "final installation size" will apparently be smaller than that, for whatever that's worth. The post also mentions that you can uninstall portions of the game you aren't actively playing, so once you're done with the campaign, you can toss it aside to save some hard drive space.

Unless you have gigabit internet, go ahead and start that download now. This way, it might actually be done by Nov. 10.