Call of Duty Elite premium members on Xbox 360 this week received the first of 20 downloadable content packs for Modern Warfare 3, which are set to be released over the next nine months.
Premium members can download the so-called content drops, which contain two new multiplayer maps called Liberation and Piazza, via the Modern Warfare 3 in-game store.
The first drop, Liberation, is "a militarized Central Park in the heart of NYC featuring a vast landscape ripe for long-range sniper and LMG kills," publisher Activision said. Liberation includes a range of environments and has mounted turrets at opposite ends of the map that provide "overwhelming firepower to anyone brave enough to man them."
The second drop, Piazza, is set in an Italian seaside village "where blind corners and a complex network of branching pathways pose danger at every turn," Activision said. The map features close-quarters combat as well as the threat of attacks from above and below.
The files, which total 200MB together, are only currently available for premium subscribers. They will be available for purchase by any Modern Warfare 3 player on Xbox Live in March, Activision said. PlayStation 3 and PC players will be able to get the maps at a later date.
Liberation and Piazza are the first of 20 total content drops that will roll out once a month until September. Activision has published a schedule of the forthcoming downloadable content, which will include 10 more maps, six missions, and two game modes.
Activision last month announced that it took Modern Warfare 3 just 16 days to do more than $1 billion in sales, making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time. By comparison, it took Call of Duty: Black Ops, the predecessor to Modern Warfare 3, nearly two months to surpass the $1 billion mark.
Modern Warfare 3 went on sale on Nov. 8 and it had a record-breaking first day, selling more than 6.5 million units for a total of $400 million in sales.
For more, see PCMag's full review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and the slideshow below.