Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 release date is leaked

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 finally has a release date.

Fans of the series will need to mark 8 November into their diaries, according to several big name retailers.

Nothing official has been announced by the game's publishers, Activision, though.

But Amazon, HMV and Game are all now advertising that day as the release date for the sequel to 2009's blockbuster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Neil Ashurst, who works for Game, said: "Call of Duty is one of most the iconic gaming franchises of this generation, with both Modern Warfare 1 and 2 being two of the biggest selling games of all time.

"The next instalment, Modern Warfare 3, will be released on 8 November and we know our customers can't wait get their hands on it."

Box office

As part of one of the biggest selling games franchises, Modern Warfare will have a lot to live up to.

Its predecessor, Modern Warfare 2, smashed box office records when it was released in 2009.

On its first day of release it sold an estimated 1.23 million units and grossed around £47m in the UK alone, according to industry body the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE).

Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision, described it at the time as "one of the largest entertainment launches of any media of all time".

It's likely that demand will be just as strong, if not stronger, this time round.

Gamers can expect hundreds of shops to open at midnight with levels of hype and news coverage more similar to blockbuster movies than video games.