• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, November 4, 2011

With the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 just days away, retailers are looking to capitalize on the Call of Duty fan base in as many ways as possible. GameStop is kicking off its events at 8:00 pm on Monday, and is giving gamers a chance to play the new title in its stores, until the official release at midnight. And at two locations, Los Angeles (West Hollywood) and New York City (Union Square), it’s also hosting Midnight Warfare events, which will include members of the game’s development team.

The Grapevine, Tex.-based chain is also offering a 30% trade bonus on any game traded toward the purchase of the new Call of Duty. Events are scheduled for 4,400 of its more than 6,500 locations.

Walmart is also hosting tournaments that start at 8:00 pm, which will give gamers the chance to earn “Mega XP” time, consisting of 90-minutes of double experience points, with every purchase of specially-marked 20-packs of Mountain Dew. Those events are set for more than 2,700 store locations, with free games awarded to tournament winners in each store.