The campaign is the best Call of Duty campaign we have played in years. That’s our first-hand verdict after finishing Modern Warfare 4’s early-access story. We’re keeping the overall score open until multiplayer has been properly assessed.
- Played on
- PC via Xbox app
- Developer
- Infinity Ward
- Review score
- Pending full assessment
There is a certain expectation that arrives with a new Modern Warfare. The explosions will be loud, the stakes will be enormous and Captain Price will probably find himself somewhere he isn’t supposed to be. What matters more is whether the game earns the time between those familiar moments.
After playing the Modern Warfare 4 campaign during early access on PC through the Xbox app, our immediate response is emphatic: this is the best Call of Duty campaign we’ve played in years. It’s a promising foundation for the full package, but a campaign isn’t the entire game. This is our developing review, with multiplayer and DMZ still to be judged.
The campaign: Modern Warfare finds its footing
Infinity Ward takes this instalment into a conflict centred on the Korean Peninsula. The official story follows Private Park Hyun Jun and his South Korean unit as an invasion unfolds, while Captain Price pursues a separate mission that pulls him into the wider crisis. Across 16 missions, the action moves beyond Korea to locations including New York, Paris and Mumbai.
We’re keeping this section spoiler-free. After completing the campaign ourselves, the reaction is unmistakable: this single-player experience made a stronger impression on us than recent Call of Duty stories. That is a meaningful result for a series with decades of cinematic missions behind it. It is also our own campaign verdict, not a claim about multiplayer, DMZ or the entire package.
Captured in-game: our own PC screenshots
These are original screenshots captured during our campaign playthrough on PC, rather than publisher-supplied promotional shots.
Multiplayer: the real test is still ahead
At launch on 23 October, Modern Warfare 4 arrived with 20 multiplayer maps: 12 core 6v6 maps, three Ground War battlegrounds, four Gunfight arenas and the modular Kill Block facility. Activision’s official map breakdown confirms those numbers. The publisher is promising more grounded combat and increased control during engagements. Those are details to test, not conclusions we are prepared to present as our own.
Our full multiplayer verdict will examine map flow, weapon feel, spawns, matchmaking, progression and session-to-session variety. We haven’t yet documented enough hands-on multiplayer experience to grade those fairly. We’ll update this section after proper play rather than borrowing anyone else’s opinion.
DMZ: a separate reason to return
DMZ is part of the Modern Warfare 4 package, with extraction-based objectives built around deciding what to secure and when to leave. That combination of risk and reward could give players another reason to spend time with the game beyond traditional multiplayer. For now, this is a description of the advertised mode, not a hands-on assessment.
PC experience and the question of value
Our campaign playthrough was on PC through the Xbox app. We will keep the technical assessment separate from any unrelated PC troubleshooting, and add firm performance observations only where they can be attributed to the game itself.
One purchasing detail deserves particular attention: Modern Warfare 4 is a standalone release, not part of Game Pass at launch. Activision has said it will not be added to Game Pass until the holiday 2027 period. If you’re coming straight from an Xbox subscription, do not assume the new campaign and multiplayer are included.
Where to buy Modern Warfare 4
The game is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. Check the exact platform, edition, redemption method and region before buying. The Xbox PC version supports Xbox Play Anywhere; a code for a different launcher or platform may not be interchangeable.
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Our verdict so far
The campaign has already earned our recommendation. For us, it is a genuine return to form and the best Call of Duty single-player experience we’ve played in years. That’s a confident verdict on the story after finishing it on PC, but the wider release still needs a proper multiplayer and DMZ assessment before we award our overall score.
We’ll publish our CSP 1–100 review score and fuller multiplayer breakdown only once our hands-on testing supports them. For now this is explicitly an unscored review in progress, rather than a final verdict on a mode we have not properly assessed.
Review methodology: campaign played on PC via Xbox app. Multiplayer and DMZ not yet scored. Images are official Activision materials. Retail arrangements have no influence on editorial conclusions.