Why Does Soap Die in MW3?

The MW3 campaign ends with a grisly fate for Soap at the hands of Makarov, but why does he die and not another operator?

The story of Task Force 141 taking on Makarov in the newest Call of Duty entry concludes with Soap losing his life in the final mission, Trojan Horse, while he’s attempting to stop the Konni Group from detonating chemical weapons in London. While the stakes were high in this part of the Modern Warfare 3 story, how come Soap, whose character arc was on the up, was the one to take the fall?

Why Did They Kill Soap in MW3?

The most obvious reason why Soap dies is because he stabs Makarov to save Price, and in retaliation is shot in the head. It all happens instantly, and players witness it from the point of view of Price. However, there are other parts throughout the game that lead to Soap being the one not to survive.

During the mission, Flashpoint, Soap and Price (years in the past) attempted to stop Makarov from unleashing devastation within the region of Verdansk. The mission ends with the stadium being blown up, and the Task Force is furious, with Soap wanting to put Makarov down immediately. Price intervenes, though, and Makarov survives. Makarov likely killed Soap and attempted to kill Price to punish them for not killing him when they had the chance.

The Flashpoint mission conclusion shows that because of Price’s actions, they would come back to haunt him, with Soap’s life at the cost. It also gives a possible deeper meaning that sometimes, no matter how evil the person is, they cannot be saved, and people will suffer for it.

Lastly, it could be something as simple as this being a reboot; the developers wanted to try changing expectations for who lives and dies chronologically. As players expected Ghost not to survive the events of the last game, Sledgehammer Games decided to throw a wrench into things and change the character’s fates with Soap not surviving MW3, just like in the original Modern Warfare 3 from 2011.