Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a first-person shooter video game.^[1][4] It comprises three main game modes: a single-player campaign mode; a competitive multiplayer component; and the extraction shooter mode "DMZ", returning from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022).^[4] Modern Warfare 4's campaign primarily focuses on a war between North and South Korea; in addition, missions also take place in various locations such as New York, Paris, and Mumbai.^[2]

The multiplayer mode features 12 core 6v6 maps at launch, accompanied by returning game modes such as "Gunfight" with a dedicated map pool, and "Big War" featuring large-scale maps. A new map, "Kill Block", features dynamic layouts that constantly change as the match progresses, with over 500 different possible configurations. One of the major changes to the gameplay system is the removal of hipfire bloom, a mechanic that penalizes players by reducing accuracy of shots when firing their weapons from the hip. Updates to the movement system include the ability to hang and shimmy along edges and pipes.^[4]

In DMZ, 20 squads of up to three players deploy into a large-scale map, dubbed the "exclusion zone", where they scavenge for loot and complete objectives before attempting to exfiltrate. Players can pursue story missions, which are a set of narrative-focused tasks; Dynamic Operations, which are randomly-generated objectives that differ each match; or simply freely roam the map. While exploring, players can encounter and fight against hostile NPCs as well as other players. Killing other players results in the player's notoriety level increasing, marking their presence on the map for other players to find. A new feature in DMZ is the Forward Operating Base (FOB), an in-game hub where players prepare their gear before deployment, including setting up their loadouts, crafting items and interacting with vendors. Players can also gain permanent progression for their Operators via individual "trait trees", granting skills and bonuses that cater to specific play styles. Additionally, the playable map features dynamic weather effects, such as rain and snow, which intensify as the match progresses.^[5]

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Campaign

In October 2026, ROKMC Private First Class Park Hyun-Jun (Young Mazino) witnesses the city of Hajin^[c] being struck by an EMP attack, seconds before a full-scale invasion by the North Korean Army (NKA).^[d] His squad, "Sierra-1" – comprising Sergeant So Jae-Woo (Jae Kim), Private First Class Cho "Chow" Han (Joon Lee), Private First Class Yun Jong-Moon (Daniel J. Kim), and USMC Corporal Joseph Dunn (William Lipton) – reunite with their commanding officer, USMC First Lieutenant Reginald West (Luke Tennie), buy time for a withdrawal, and regroup with allied forces outside the city.

Five days prior, Captain John Price (Barry Sloane), on the run after assassinating US General Herschel Shepherd,^[e] is contacted by his former CIA handler, Kate Laswell (Rya Kihlstedt). Laswell reveals that Russia recently moved to occupy parts of the Middle East after the US withdrew its forces – a move made possible by the Russian Defense Minister in charge of the Konni Ultranationalist PMC, known only as "the Archer" (Mads Mikkelsen). Price tracks Konni's financier, Milena Romanova (Tina Ivlev), to a nightclub in New York City and discovers Konni commander Vladimir Makarov (Julian Kostov) acquiring a package from her. Price kills Romanova and pursues Makarov across downtown Manhattan. After killing him, Price is captured by members of the Las Almas Cartel, who reveal their leader, Valeria Garza (María Elisa Camargo), was supposed to help deliver the package to the Archer. Price agrees to help in order to reach the Archer but does not inform Laswell.

The next day, while traveling to Paris, Price and Valeria are ambushed by Phillip Graves (Warren Kole) and the Shadow Company PMC who attempt to retrieve the package for the US government. Price kills Graves, and the following day, he and Valeria escape the French mafia and local police forces in a destructive chase through Paris; Laswell discovers Price's involvement and warns him to stop, but he refuses. Meanwhile, in North Korea, Ri Seung-Ho (Jeongmin Cho) succeeds his late father as the country's new Supreme Leader. His sister, NKA commander Ri Ju-Young (Prisca Kim), leads a raid on a village to execute a defector, aided by her right-hand man, Lieutenant Ko Jin-Hyuk (Lanny Joon). The defector is found and hanged, though he warns Ko that Ju-Young has ulterior motives. Ju-Young, Ko, and Seung-Ho later meet with the Archer, who offers Russia's support if North Korea decides to invade the South; Seung-Ho hesitates to agree, while Ju-Young supports the idea.

Two days before the invasion, British SAS forces, led by Simon "Ghost" Riley (Samuel Roukin) and Kyle "Gaz" Garrick (Elliot Knight), ambush the Cartel in Mumbai, where the deal with the Archer is to take place. To escape, Valeria uses the package, revealed to be a single-use directional EMP device, causing a contained blackout in the city. Ghost and Gaz confront Price but are captured by the Cartel. The Archer arrives, and Valeria pretends to restrain and present Price as part of the deal. Anticipating her betrayal, the Archer kills Valeria and the Cartel and takes Price, Ghost, and Gaz. The following day, Ju-Young launches a military coup with the Archer's help, executes Seung-Ho and his senior council, and assumes the mantle of Supreme Leader, intending to proceed with the invasion.

In the present day, US and South Korean forces make plans to launch a counterattack to retake Hajin before a retaliatory invasion of North Korea. Sierra-1 assist ROKA SWC Captain Kwon "Kal" Hae-Soo (Joseph Lee) in covert operations against North Korean positions but are stranded when their plane is shot down over North Korean territory. Ko approaches Kal and Park, wanting to defect after witnessing Ju-Young's atrocities. Meanwhile, in a secure NKA facility, the Archer reveals that he intends to scapegoat Task Force 141 for Seung-Ho's assassination and executes Gaz. Price frees himself and helps Ghost escape. The Archer recaptures Price, revealing that he is Makarov's father and, later, that the Korean conflict was a testing ground for using the EMPs to launch a large-scale Russian invasion of Europe.

After South Korean forces secure key locations in Hajin, Laswell orders Kal and Sierra-1, with Ghost's assistance, to assault the North Korean Presidential Palace, eliminate Ju-Young, and recover Price. The team find Ju-Young and kill her but fail to find Price, and Ko stays in North Korea to help rebuild the country. Ghost later ambushes a Konni convoy evacuating the Archer and Price back to Russia. Price escapes and pursues the Archer to a frozen lake, and the two fatally wound one another in a fight. As Ghost arrives, Price regrets his vigilantism and succumbs to his wounds. Ghost takes the Archer's EMP package and leaves.

In a post-credits sequence, Laswell deletes the records of the remaining 141 members and wipes her laptop clean. She greets her replacement, revealing plans to enter the Korean DMZ and welcoming the newcomer to the "Watcher Program".

DMZ

Following the South Korean operations in Hajin, a local nuclear reactor meltdown causes radiation to spread across the region, forcing civilians to evacuate. North Korean forces begin to move in and claim the region. Laswell's replacement, callsign "Watcher-2", sends an operator into the Hajin DMZ to investigate a CIA drone that went offline in the area. The operator, however, is captured and executed by Blix (Rich Ting), an elite North Korean mercenary working for the NKA who is searching for Ko's whereabouts.

Some time after, Watcher-2 briefs other operators on the situation in Hajin and sends them into the DMZ in order to investigate the NKA's interests in weapons and technologies that remain hidden in the area.

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Development on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is led by Infinity Ward with assistance from 10 additional studios, including Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software.^[6]

Modern Warfare 4's setting on the Korean Peninsula with a renewed conflict between North and South Korea evokes the real world Korean War between the two states, which has been at an armistice since 1953 without an official conclusion.^[7] South Korean journalist Hyeonju Song said that "creating fiction based on it is bound to cause pain to someone" as "separated families who were torn apart by the war are still alive".^[8] Infinity Ward co-studio head Jack O'Hara said the studio worked to portray the region as respectfully as possible.^[8] They consulted regional specialists, defectors from North Korea and Infinity Ward's own Korean employees.^[9] Infinity Ward were interested in the setting as they had not portrayed Asia at scale in a Modern Warfare game.^[9] Narrative director Jeff Negus said the studio wanted the narrative to feel "ripped from the headlines" such as the role played by American troops stationed in South Korea if North Korea were to attack its neighbor.^[10] On September 17, 2026, Mads Mikkelsen was revealed to be portraying the game's antagonist The Archer.^[11]

When explaining the changes made to the movement system in Modern Warfare 4, co-studio head Mark Grigsby said that the development team was motivated by player feedback to their previous title, Modern Warfare II (2022), where movement was perceived as being more restricted.^[12] The game does not employ the "Omnimovement" system featured in Treyarch's titles, Black Ops 6 (2024) and Black Ops 7 (2025), though Grigsby and O'Hara said Infinity Ward still aimed to make movement as fast and fluid as possible.^[13]

Modern Warfare 4 is the first Call of Duty game to only release on ninth generation consoles. Activision press material claimed that the game would set "a new technical benchmark for the series".^[6] The PC version's development was aided by Beenox, as with every Call of Duty title since Black Ops 4 (2018).^[14] The PC version features expanded ray tracing effects, including ray traced reflections, ambient occlusion and shadows, across all game modes.^[15][16] Modern Warfare 4 is the first Call of Duty title to ship on a Nintendo console since Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013) released on Wii U.^[17] The Nintendo Switch 2 version was developed by Digital Legends, who previously worked on Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile (2024). O'Hara said the process has been "pretty seamless" and they "got the game up and running pretty quickly" on the Switch 2.^[18][19] It supports cross-play and optional Joy-Con 2 mouse controls on the console.^[20]

Modern Warfare 4 was marketed as the final entry in the rebooted Modern Warfare sub-series, though according to Activision's chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl, the company does not rule out the possibility of bringing back certain characters of the subseries in future games.^[21]

Modern Warfare 4 was announced on May 28, 2026 and released on October 23, 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.^[1][2] Unlike previous Call of Duty titles Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7, which launched on Xbox Game Pass on release day, Modern Warfare 4 is set to release on the subscription service at least a year after release day.^[22] Additionally, users who digitally pre-order Modern Warfare 4 were granted early access to the campaign mode, starting from October 16, 2026,^[23] as well as the DMZ mode starting from October 20, 2026.^{[24][unreliable source]}

Similar to previous Call of Duty titles, players who pre-order Modern Warfare 4 were granted early access to an open beta test for the game's multiplayer mode, which began August 21, 2026 and concluded on September 1, 2026; all players were granted access to the beta test from August 28, 2026. Unlike previous titles, Xbox Game Pass users were not granted early access to the open beta.^[25] For the first time in the franchise's history, in addition to multiplayer content, the Modern Warfare 4 beta also included a campaign mission titled "Entrenched" and a new "Resurgence" map for Call of Duty: Warzone (2022).^[26]

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The game's PC version received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic,^[27] while the PlayStation 5 version is listed with "universal acclaim".^[28] Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received "mighty" approval, being recommended by 100% of critics.^[29]

• List of video games released in 2026