Modern Warfare 3 ending, explained

If you haven’t got to the end of MW3 yet or just want to know what happens ASAP, then our Modern Warfare 3 ending explainer will provide a detailed walkthrough of what happens in the game’s final moments.

One thing’s for sure when it comes to a Call of Duty campaign ending, something will blow up and/or someone will die. Modern Warfare 3 features many of the familiar tropes of a CoD story and carries on what’s been a fairly compelling reboot narrative.

With the nefarious Makarov on the loose and some surprises thrown in, it’s worth finding out what happens in MW3.

What happens in the MW3 ending?

As we reach Modern Warfare 3’s conclusion, Graves, back from the dead, has turned on General Shepherd, nullifying their partnership, and Task Force 141 has finally located Makarov after he was presumed dead.

They learn of Makarov’s plans to blow up the Channel Tunnel. They cut him off by heading below London and finding the bomb after fighting through waves of Russian forces.

In the process of trying to defuse the bomb, Makarov appears and shoots Soap. Makarov then goes to finish off Captain Price, but Soap intervenes. A brief skirmish results in Makarov shooting Soap in the head and instantly killing him.

Makarov just about manages to avoid being hit by a train and escapes. The remains of Task Force 141 call in to report that the mission to abort the bomb was successful, but that it came at a heavy cost.

Shortly after, we cut to a cliffside where Price, Gaz, and Ghost are holding a funeral for Soap. Following a touching eulogy, Price releases Soap’s ashes, and we head to the game’s credits… but that’s not all.

Secret MW3 post-credits cut scene

Do not skip the end credits! If you do, then you risk missing out on an extra scene. It doesn’t wash the sour taste of Soap’s death out, but it will certainly make you feel better.

We see General Shepherd sitting down at his desk, only for a mysterious figure to appear—and it’s Captain Price. Shepherd isn’t stupid, knows why Price is here, and cottons onto the fact that Laswell is behind this ruse.

Shepherd says that Price is better than this, only for John to respond, ‘We both were.’ In the end, Shepherd says that he won’t beg for his life, Price agrees, and shoots Shepherd, off-camera, in the head. The Captain leaves as blood begins to pool on the former General’s desk.

In many ways, it’s a cathartic moment considering Shepherd’s betrayal in 2022’s Modern Warfare 2, and one that I took great pleasure in watching unfold.