Modern Warfare 3 fan spots 2009 MW2 Easter Egg

A Modern Warfare 3 fan has uncovered an Easter Egg that pays tribute to 2009's Modern Warfare 2.

The Call of Duty franchise is no stranger to adding in Easter Eggs for players to discover and in Modern Warfare 3, there are plenty of hidden secrets dotted around the multiplayer maps.

With Season 1 on the horizon, players continue to work towards the mastery camos on offer in multiplayer and zombies. During a recent match, one eagle-eyed fan spotted a tribute to 2009's Modern Warfare 2 single-player campaign hidden within the sandy ground of Rust.

After discovering the Easter Egg, X user LucaBoechat posted an image of a skull with a knife stuck in its eye socket.

The skull and knife are a reference to the ending of the 2009 Modern Warfare 2 campaign where Price kills Shepherd with a throwing knife to the head with the iconic central tower of Rust in the background. As expected, fans were impressed by the discovery. One says: "Wow, I didn't even notice." Another adds: "That is so f**king cool, I love when devs do this kind of stuff."

Following the discovery of the Easter Egg, some Modern Warfare 3 fans wonder what else Sledgehammer Games has managed to hide in and around the battlefields. One player says": Makes me wonder what else is on these maps."

So far, the Modern Warfare 2 2009 skull and knife is one of a handful of Easter Eggs to be uncovered. On Underpass, the old lady Easter Egg appears when players shoot a locked door still exists, just like on the original iteration of the map.

As the cycle progresses, there's every chance Modern Warfare 3 fans continue finding references to the original Modern Warfare 2. The 16 launch maps made their way into Sledgehammer Games' latest release to celebrate 20 years of Call of Duty. For those waiting for new battlegrounds, the first seasonal update will contain three brand-new maps to inject a breath of fresh air into the existing selection.