Modern Warfare 4 campaign review: Infinity Ward takes Call of Duty to Korea
Pre-order customers have been playing the campaign since 16 October; the full game launches on 23 October. Early reviews praise the spectacle and pacing but miss new ideas.
Photo: Takipoint123 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Trailer: YouTube · Call of Duty · youtube.com
Critics' rating
Scores: GameSpot 7/10 · IGN 8/10
- Platforms
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2
- Studio
- Infinity Ward (Activision)
- Release
- 16.10.2026
+ Pros
- Visually impressive
- Two storylines dovetail well
- Varied missions, including a semi-open one
- A satisfying finale for the Modern Warfare saga
– Cons
- Final boss fights too short and weak
- Little that is truly new
- Price storyline feels disconnected
- Mission design is rigid at times
Critics' verdict
An entertaining, cinematic campaign that brings the saga to a fitting close with some shocking moments – but rarely tries anything new.
Summary of published reviews – sources below.
Since 16 October, pre-order customers have been able to play the single-player campaign of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4; the full game including multiplayer launches on 23 October for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2. Infinity Ward’s campaign concludes the rebooted Modern Warfare series and alternates between two strands: conscripted South Korean soldier Park fights after a North Korean invasion, while Captain Price, following the events of Modern Warfare 3, goes rogue to hunt Makarov and allies with Valeria Garza to do so. The villain is Archer, played by Mads Mikkelsen. Locations include New York, Paris, Mumbai and Korea.
GameSpot awards 7 out of 10, praising the visuals, the well-interwoven stories and a satisfying conclusion; according to Pure Xbox, IGN scores it 8 out of 10. PC Gamer has not given a score yet but calls the roughly six-hour campaign the most fun in the series for years – for the first time in a long while it does not feel like an afterthought. The semi-open mission “Stranded” behind enemy lines is singled out as a highlight.
Criticism focuses on short, weak boss fights at the end and on the game rarely trying anything new. PC Gamer finds the Price storyline disconnected and feels Mikkelsen is wasted in the weaker parts; according to GamesRadar the mission design is rigid in places.