Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Here's one cover we hope we'll never actually see: a still-smoldering New York Stock Exchange, completely leveled by enemy artillery. The TIME cover in question is actually a promotional poster for Modern Warfare 3, an installment in the Call of Duty video-game franchise, set to be released in November 2011. The ultra-popular first-person shooters are among the industry's best selling games, with last year's Black Ops raking in a staggering $1 billion in sales. The TIME cover here is part of a narrative that pits the United States against Russia in an apocalyptic near future. Frightening? Yes. Thankfully, it's just a game.