Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
Developer: Infinity Ward (lead) + 7 support studios
Publisher: Activision
Genre: FPS · Campaign / Multiplayer / DMZ
Released: October 22, 2026
Price: $69.99 · Vault Edition $99.99
Platform: PC · PS5 · Xbox Series X|S · Switch 2
Content note: rated M (17+). The developers list blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, suggestive themes and use of drugs.
🎖️ How we reviewed it: on PC, via Steam. For the campaign, we’ve also drawn on early critic impressions of the full nine-to-eleven-hour story, and for multiplayer and DMZ, on what players are saying in the game’s first week.
16Campaign Missions
9–11Hour Campaign
20MP Maps at Launch
85Metacritic
$69.99Price
🪖 Know this first: the campaign is the star, and Season 1 starts November 6. Modern Warfare 4 sits at 85 on Metacritic and 84 on OpenCritic, and it’s Mostly Positive on Steam. It skips PS4 and Xbox One, and it’s the series’ first game on Nintendo Switch 2. On PC, it requires TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, a phone number linked to your Steam account and an Activision account, and it runs inside the Call of Duty launcher. It’s also excluded from Steam Family Sharing.
🇰🇷 War Erupts on the Korean Peninsula
North Korea launches a full-scale invasion that threatens to destabilize the world. On the collapsing front lines, Private Park, a young South Korean soldier, faces live combat for the first time alongside his squad, call sign Mayhem 1.
Half a world away, an outlaw Captain Price wages a personal war from the shadows, hunting a mysterious villain known as the Archer, played by Mads Mikkelsen. As Price’s off-book mission collides with the forces behind the invasion, the war spreads beyond anyone’s control.
The best Call of Duty campaign in years. The launcher is another story.
After a rough few years for Call of Duty campaigns, Modern Warfare 4 is billed as the grand finale of Infinity Ward’s rebooted Modern Warfare saga, and against the odds, it delivers. Players are calling it one of the best campaigns since Black Ops 1 or 2, and critics agree it’s one of the series’ strongest story modes since the 2019 reboot. Multiplayer is solid if familiar, the new DMZ is a hit, and almost everyone has the same complaint: the launcher.
Our verdict: “This globe-trotting shooter delivers intense campaign moments and solid multiplayer action worth your time.”
A Classic War Story
The real surprise is that the heart of the campaign isn’t Price at all. Ten of its 16 missions focus on the Korean conflict, and Private Park’s squad is genuinely likable, which isn’t something you can say about most Call of Duty casts. Fighting alongside dozens of soldiers, defending hard points, retreating and taking out tanks feels like classic Call of Duty in a way the rebooted games never quite managed. One critic was reminded of the Russian missions in Call of Duty 2. Entire sections are spoken in Korean with subtitles, which adds an authenticity that’s rare for the series.
🎖️ Mayhem 1
Private Park and his squad on the front lines, the campaign’s real core.
🕵️ Price Goes Dark
Espionage missions across Europe, hunting Mads Mikkelsen’s Archer.
🥊 Hand-to-Hand
A new parry-and-counter system for cinematic, boss-like brawls.
🗺️ “Stranded”
An open-world mission with 11 enemy bases, 50 notes and gear to scavenge.
The Campaign Finally Delivers
💥 Well-Paced, Intense and Satisfying
Every mission is well designed, well paced and packed with the set pieces that made the series’ best campaigns memorable. Objectives are explained clearly, and the armor system is handled far better than in recent entries: some missions give you none, some make plates rare and rewarding, and some let you tank through. The open-world “Stranded” mission, about two-thirds of the way in, is a standout. You start with almost nothing and scavenge night-vision goggles and better weapons to take on three big objectives. It drags a little, but it’s clearly designed with care, not lifted from multiplayer.
At around nine to eleven hours, it’s also longer than a typical Call of Duty campaign. Players are thrilled. One who usually skips campaigns entirely called it amazing, and another rated it 9/10 on its own.
⚠️ Light story spoilers (characters and ending): tap to reveal
• Makarov does appear, but Mads Mikkelsen’s Archer fills most of the villain role. He’s menacing, though one critic felt he was a little underused.
• The much-teased Ghost vs. Price face-off is in the game, and it delivers.
• The story wraps up with no sequel hooks, which makes for a satisfying ending.
Multiplayer and DMZ
🎯 Solid Shooting, Sweaty Lobbies
Multiplayer launched with 20 maps: 12 new 6v6 maps, 4 Gunfight maps, 3 Ground War maps and the Kill Block training facility. Several players say it’s genuinely good, with one calling it a true successor to MW2019. Its movement won over at least one Black Ops 6 fan, even though they still prefer Treyarch’s omnimovement. The maps aren’t amazing at first, but they grow on you.
DMZ, the extraction mode that replaces Zombies, is the breakout. Several players say it’s surprisingly addictive, and one said it stole their entire weekend. If you’re a die-hard Zombies fan, though, one player suggests sticking with Black Ops 7.
Where It Stumbles
⚠️ Friendly Fire
1. The launcher. This is the most common complaint by far. Modern Warfare 4 doesn’t appear as its own game in your Steam library. Instead, it lives inside the Call of Duty hub, where you get Vault Edition ads and the client restarts itself to switch modes. Several players are begging for separate launchers for each title.
2. Skill-based matchmaking. Have one good match and you’re thrown into lobbies full of bunny-hopping, slide-cancelling sweats. One player who just wants a chill session after work said every session leaves them stressed.
3. Familiar multiplayer. Some players say it doesn’t bring anything new, that TTK feels odd, and that some guns feel unbalanced.
4. A slow start. Price’s early missions spend a lot of time clearing up the series’ messy story, and his “going dark” arc doesn’t quite land. Intercutting between CGI and in-engine cutscenes can be jarring, and one critic didn’t love the big blood puffs on hits.
5. Price. At $69.99, one player suggests waiting for a sale if you’re not here for the campaign.
🎮 Platforms & Performance
On PS5 Pro, critics say performance is excellent, with only minor shiny-edge artifacts. The Switch 2 version has full feature parity, including the campaign, multiplayer and modes. It’s noticeably muddier and runs at a lower framerate, but it’s playable. On PC, you’ll need 115 GB on an SSD, and the game uses RICOCHET kernel-level anti-cheat, which requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Cross-platform multiplayer, full controller support, HDR and eight accessibility features are all included.
Things to Know
📋 Before You Buy
• $69.99 · Vault Edition $99.99 (operator packs, signature weapons, one season of BlackCell, a DMZ bonus) · $30 upgrade
• Season 1 launches November 6 with Backstab, Canyon and a reimagined Shoot House, a new DMZ black site, and full Warzone integration (Hajin and Zodiac, plus the return of Verdansk and Rebirth Island)
• No Zombies mode: DMZ takes its place
• Requires an Activision account and a phone number linked to Steam · excluded from Family Sharing
• Activision’s Steam page discloses that generative AI tools were used to help develop some in-game assets
• Minimum: Windows 10, Ryzen 5 1400 / Core i5-6600, 8 GB RAM, RX 470 / GTX 970 / 1060 / Arc A580
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
| The Good |
The Bad |
The Ugly |
| The CampaignOne of the series’ best in years. |
Familiar MultiplayerSolid, but not much new. |
The LauncherA launcher inside a launcher that restarts itself. |
| Mayhem 1A genuinely likable new cast. |
SBMMSweaty lobbies after one good match. |
— |
| DMZAn addictive extraction mode. |
Slow StartPrice’s early missions drag. |
— |
| “Stranded”An open-world mission done right. |
PC RequirementsTPM, Secure Boot, phone number and 115 GB. |
— |
| Switch 2 ParityThe full game on a handheld. |
— |
— |
The Verdict
Modern Warfare 4 is a genuine return to form for Call of Duty’s campaign. The Korean War story, led by a surprisingly well-written new cast, captures the spirit of the series’ classics, and almost every mission is well designed, intense and satisfying. Add in an addictive DMZ and solid, if familiar, multiplayer, and it’s the most complete Call of Duty package in years.
It’s not without frustrations. The launcher setup is a mess, skill-based matchmaking will wear down casual players, and the multiplayer doesn’t reinvent anything. But if you’ve been waiting for a Call of Duty campaign worth your time, this is it.
The honest read: if you care about campaigns or want to try DMZ, Modern Warfare 4 is easy to recommend. If you only play multiplayer and you’re happy with Black Ops 7, there’s no rush, so wait for a sale.
For more game reviews, check out our full reviews section.
Score Breakdown
Campaign Mission Design9.0/10
Korean War Story & Cast9.0/10
Presentation & Performance8.5/10
“Stranded” Open-World Mission8.0/10
Multiplayer Maps & Balance7.0/10
Final Score
7.8/10
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 — Infinity Ward
A campaign worth showing up for, trapped inside a frustrating launcher.
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