The “Merry CODmas” Event begins in MW3 & Warzone on December 20th. The MWIII Christmas event is set to bring forth new challenges, rewards, map updates and more. Here’s everything we know so far about the Modern Warfare 3 Christmas event, currently named CODMAS, which releases soon:

MW3 Christmas Event Release Date
The “Merry CODmas” Event Starts on December 20th in Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone! This has been confirmed from the Battlepass UI saying we have 14 Days until this event starts!
#MW3: The ‘Merry CODmas’ Event starts on December 20th!
— DETONATED (@DETONATEDcom) December 6, 2023
💥 Expect a Challenge Event, Map Updates, Holiday Bundles, & More! pic.twitter.com/wCZyCnp6KO
CHRISTMAS MAP RESKINS
It’s become a tradition at this point for a Christmas reskin of Shipment to release with the Call of Duty holiday event. Modern Warfare 3 doesn’t intend to break tradition, as Shipmas is planned to release alongside a reskin of Highrise named Hangover. The leaked list of CODMAS challenges also confirm Christmas reskins for modes like Gunfight and Infected.

It’s likely that these maps could be playable early via private matches, once the full Season 1 patch drops before December 6th. Modern Warfare 2 also received a Christmas reskin of shipment last year during it’s mid season one update.
CODMAS Challenges & Rewards
The MWIII Christmas challenge event has been named CODMAS, and is described to be a twelve day celebration. The Multiplayer challenges have been prematurely revealed by Twitter leakers, but it’s unknown what the Warzone or Zombies challenges may be. The studio confirmed that players who equip the Santa Gnaws operator, an upcoming Season 1 bundle, will receive a boost towards their progression in CODMAS.
Here is the current list of challenges, but stay tuned for further updates:
- GET 40 OPERATOR MELEE KILLS WITH STALKER BOOTS EQUIPPED
- GET 40 OPERATOR KILLS WITH A WEAPON PICKED UP FROM ANOTHER PLAYER
- GET 100 OPERATOR KILLS WITH THE DG-58 LSW
- GET 6 OPERATOR SNOWBALL KILLS IN SNOWBALL GUNFIGHT
- GET 40 OPERATOR HEADSHOT KILLS WITH A SNIPER, DMR, OR BATTLE RIFLE
- GET 30 OPERATOR KILLS WHILE PLAYING INFECTED HOLIDAY
- GET 5 OPERATOR KILLS WHILE SLIDING OR CROUCHING
- COMPLETE ALL 7 EVENT CHALLENGES – SANTA’S SLAYGROUND MASTERY

The Return of Krampus in MW3 & Warzone
During Vanguard’s Christmas event, Festive Fervor, Krampus wrecked havoc in both Multiplayer and Warzone which quickly sparked controversy in both communities. This year, Krampus is back in the form of Zombie Santa, who will be a boss fight akin to the Butcher from MW2’s Haunting event, rather than Ai who roams around the map.

Operators must obtain a key from Deck The Halls, detailed below, in which they can enter a “Merry” portal. Players will have to take down a zombified Juggernaut Santa before reacting the massive sack of valuable loot.
Deck The Halls
Santa has delivered presents across Urzikstan, via a number of holiday crates. The new Urzikstan Warzone map is receiving a Christmas makeover, as Santa has left presents all around the map. Players can use their Tac Map to find trees which have rewards nearby. It’s claimed that an Evil Santa will spawn in to defend these trees, which sounds like a more balanced version of Krampus.

These Christmas trees sound like immediate hot drops in matches of Urzikstan, which can still be avoided if a player decides to play normal Battle Royale or Resurgence, without the need to fear an undead Santa running around.
Slay Ride Resurgence
While it’s possible a Resurgence LTM gets added to Urzikstan, especially for the CODMAS event, the Slay Ride Resurgence mode may be available on Ashika Island or Vondel instead. Not much is known about what this Christmas LTM will entail, but a number of “treats” were teased for players.

What is being described as a “moving point of interest” which is the Urzikstan train, will be getting a slay ride reskin. Santa will reportedly be on the train handing out presents to those who’ve been nice, but naughty operators are in for a rude awakening if they decide to board the slay ride.
Snowball Fights & Christmas Loot
Default loadouts will come equipped with snowballs, while ground loot will also have snowballs marked by snowflakes on the tac map. Blackout Battle Royale previously featured snowballs as apart of the Black Ops 4 Christmas event, which have never been featured in Warzone before.

For even more details on the MW3 Christmas update, checkout the following video:

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