Why is Graves in Call of Duty: MW3?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is here, and its campaign intends to turn the action up to 11. After launching the game (hold on, it needs a reboot), players are immediately (wait, it has to reboot again) thrust back into the world of (please let this be the last reboot) alongside familiar characters like Graves for a worldwide adventure into espionage and action.

However, as I was going through said campaign, I couldn’t help but feel something was off when I saw Graves. I distinctly remember a long and painful fight against this charismatic jerk where Graves was in a tank that ended with me blowing it up. How is Graves alive!?

Didn’t Graves die in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2?

Phillip “Shadow 0-1” Graves’ appearance in the newest Call of Duty, much like Alex Kellers’, took me completely out of what was going on to the point where I had to pause the game and look up what happened in the last game. Turns out, Graves was never actually in the tank during the “Ghost Team” mission.

During a cinematic from Season 5 of Modern Warfare 2, Graves is introduced to Farah and Alex, with the latter commenting on Graves’ supposed death. Graves confirms he wasn’t in the tank and then asks what else Alex may have heard. Before things can get messy, Farah steps in and redirects the conversation.

For those like myself who only play the main campaign and dabble in traditional multiplayer while completely ignoring the Warzone aspect, we’re apparently missing out on a lot of info. I can understand the reasoning for it, with the Microsoft Activision Blizzard hydra wanting to give players ample reason to keep playing. However, by not being a fan of Warzone, it feels like that information is behind a gate. At least now I know why Graves is still alive and kicking.