Sledgehammer Games confirmed that a nerf for Modern Warfare 3‘s new Kar98k is coming after a rocky and overpowered launch for the returning marksman rifle.
Sledgehammer added the Kar98k on May 29 when Modern Warfare 3 Season 4 went live. The Kar98k was notoriously one of the strongest weapons back in Modern Warfare 2019 and the original iteration of Warzone, and players were irked to discover the gun was back with a vengeance in MW3 Season 4. The Kar98k was somehow even stronger this time and has terrorized Call of Duty players for weeks as a result. Thankfully, Sledgehammer has finally announced that changes are on the way.
A popular thread from June 12 on the Modern Warfare 3 subreddit called the Kar98k the “best shotgun in the game and the best sniper and the best weapon all-around,” criticizing the low balance on the marksman rifle, which allows players to one-shot kill others from any range with no drawbacks. The official account for Sledgehammer responded that “balance adjustments are incoming, and we are currently targeting the Season 4 Reloaded update.”
Many players praised the personable response from Sledgehammer about the Kar98k. It feels like the developer is really trying to listen to the community. At the same time, others criticized them for not recognizing the issue in advance, especially considering what went down with the weapon in its previous iteration. Plus, it took Sledgehammer two weeks to finally respond to the outcry of criticism, and the promised change won’t happen until Season 4 Reloaded, which is at least another two weeks away. but won’
So, a Kar98k balance change is coming, but not until a month after the weapon eclipsed almost all others in Modern Warfare 3.