Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is out, and critics are calling it a return to form

Infinity Ward's Korea-set finale to the rebooted Modern Warfare saga landed Oct 23 with the series' best Metacritic reception in years. Here's what's in the box and what reviewers flagged.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launched on October 23, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2, and the early verdict from critics is the warmest the series has had in a long time. If you skipped the last couple of CoDs, this is the one a lot of reviewers are telling lapsed players to come back for.

The setup

Developed by Infinity Ward, MW4 is pitched as the finale of the rebooted Modern Warfare storyline. The campaign is set during a North Korean invasion of the South: you follow a young squad of South Korean soldiers on a collapsing front line, while Captain Price runs his own revenge mission from the shadows.

It's also the first Call of Duty on a Nintendo platform since Ghosts on Wii U, which tells you how wide Activision is casting the net this year.

What critics liked

Across the roundups we read, three things come up again and again:

• The campaign: widely described as the best the reboot era has produced.
• DMZ: the extraction mode is the surprise star for many outlets. Several reviewers say it's big enough to stand as its own game.
• Gunplay: as sharp as ever, with more grounded movement in multiplayer.

What they didn't

Classic multiplayer splits opinion. Some reviewers enjoyed the new shifting Kill Block map, but IGN's review-in-progress found the new maps and modes dull and the spawns awkward. Other recurring complaints: killstreaks, a campaign that runs short, some frame-rate and texture hiccups in the story, and Vault Edition perks carrying over into DMZ. GameSpot also points out that DMZ is no longer free-to-play and has only six story missions.

The scores

Forbes reported on launch day that MW4's Metacritic score was the franchise's best in 15 years, going back to the original Modern Warfare 3. For context, The Shortcut notes that last year's Black Ops 7 sat at 65. A roundup on Lanbrew put it at an 85 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic, with 96% of critics recommending it. Aggregate numbers keep moving as late reviews arrive, so check the live pages linked below.

Our take

If you're mainly a multiplayer grinder, read a couple of the multiplayer-focused reviews before you buy, because that's where critics disagree most. If you want a strong campaign plus a meaty co-op/extraction mode to play with your squad, the critical consensus is firmly on your side. Want to get better at it faster? Our 1:1 coaching and duo sessions cover CoD on PS5 and Xbox.