The game's multiplayer will be divided into cooperative Special Ops maps and traditional multiplayer maps. There will be no zombie modes in this game, not a surprise since zombies were introduced to the Call of Duty franchise by Treyarch and have, so far, popped up only in the Treyarch-developed games.


Special Ops will include both a survival, horde-like mode and a mission mode, with a total of a dozen maps and missions to choose from between the two.


As we've previously reported, there are 20 maps being worked on for Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer.


It is unclear how many multiplayer and Spec Ops maps and missions will come with the game and how many will be sold at a later date as add-on downloadable content.
The biggest new addition to the game that we've heard of so far is the creation of Team Perks. These are perks that a team can work toward to earn. It is unclear whether this will be tied to clans or some other team system, but their inclusion could help push the game into a more team-driven title, something the premium Elite service is likely to tie into.


While we don't know the total number of team perks coming to Modern Warfare 3, we have been told four of them:

Stopping Power: Increased bullet damage.
Blast Shield: Unclear
Health Regen: Regenerate health over time.
Stun Protection: Prevent stunning from flash grenades.
New perks coming to Modern Warfare 3 include:

Blind Eye: This makes you immune to computer-controlled and player-controlled killstreaks. The pro version makes your launchers lock on faster and gives you extra bullet damage to vehicles.
Assassin: This makes you immune to UAV, thermal, and heartbeat sensors. The pro version also makes you immune to CUAV, EMP and no longer shows your name in red or the crosshair in red when you're targeted.
Point Guard: Every two assists count as a kill towards your killstreak.
Dead Silence: You make no noise.
Recon: Gives you a special kind of radar to spot enemies, most likely. We're not sure on this one.
We're not clear on how many or which previous perks will be coming to the game, but it sounds like the ones that do return will do some from Modern Warfare 2, not Black Ops.
There will also be a bevy of new killstreaks to play with in multiplayer. Here's the rundown on the latest thinking:

EMP Grenade: Temporarily takes out all area electronics.
Littlebird: A tiny remote-controlled helicopter.
Precision Airstrike: Calls in an airstrike on a targeted area.
Stealth bomber: Calls in a B2 Spirit to carpet bomb along a line designated by the player.
Remote Turret: A remote controlled turret.
Directional UAV: A UAV that can be directed into areas to scan for enemies.
Remote Mortar: Direct a mortar team using a zoomable camera view of the map to call in strikes.
Airdrop Trap: A booby-trapped airdrop.
Ammo Resupply: An ammo reloading airdrop.
Escort Airdrop: A protected airdrop.
Specialist Strike Package: This one remains a mystery to us.


While it's likely that some of the killstreaks will drop out or be added in, we've been told that the team has decided to remove the controversial Tactical Nuke killstreak from the game.
Other tweaks being looked at by the team include making sure things like exploding barrels not counting toward a player's killstreak tally.


We've also learned, unfortunately, that this latest Call of Duty still won't support dedicated servers, instead relying on the hosted servers found in previous iterations of the game. Dedicated servers were removed from the Modern Warfare games starting with Modern Warfare 2. (Modern Warfare 3 appears to be using DemonWare for player authentication, just like with Call of Duty: Black Ops.)
The Modern Warfare 3 Files: Team Perks, No Nukes, New Killstreaks