It seems like Modern Warfare 3 has won its first battle against Battlefield 3 -- or at least against one Battlefield 3 fan -- as an arbitration panel has ruled in favor of Activision over the URL ModernWarfare3.com. Purchased long before the announcement of Modern Warfare 3 but not really becoming a nuisance until two months ago, the URL redirected any visitor to the site — those hopeful to see MW3 content — to the official Battlefield 3 site.

Activision caught wind of this URL, which since the redirect, returned to its more neutral Modern Warfare 3 “bashing,” and filed a complaint with an arbitration board.

Now the case is over and Activision has come out the victor, and site owner Anthony Abraham is forced to take down any and all negative Modern Warfare 3/pro Battlefield content, and hand the domain over to Activision. Whether or not the publisher will do anything with the site is unclear, but if you visit it now all you get is an error message.

It’s still a long stretch from the battle for FPS fans’ hearts that Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 will be waging in the coming months, but it is a sign that Activision is taking the competition seriously. We already knew that Electronic Arts, with their extremely choice words about COD, was going for the jugular, but it appears Activision is playing this game for keeps as well.

Since the website gained prevalence a lot has changed, namely Infinity Ward unveiling first details for MW3’s multiplayer and complete Call of Duty Elite premium info, but the goal is still the same: be number one. Both will strive for that, one will achieve it, and the other…well, the other will probably be just fine as well.

What do you think of Activision’s victory in this arbitration hearing over the fake site? Was it petty on Activision’s part to go after Abraham or was it the right thing to do to protect their image?

Modern Warfare 3 releases November 8, 2011 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Source: CVG