What was reported
Coverage of this story continues to develop across the region, and the account below restates what was reported by the original publication without adding anything that was not already there.
There is a game titled "Call Duty" every year, it's not every year Call Duty is really NEED TO KNOW is it The next Call Duty the original creators Call DutyRelease October 23, 2026Expect to $70/£60Publisher Activision BlizzardDeveloper WardReviewed on RTX Ryzen 7 9800X3D GHz, 64GB RAMMultiplayer to 60 playersSteam Deck Official site The tireless Activision's load-bearing FPS resulted in more games than good late—Modern Warfare 3 an expansion-sized sequel out the door, Black 6 a step back multiplayer, and its followup Black 7 clocked superfluous and even by rain-or-shine These back-to-back games, by Treyarch, Sledgehammer, and Raven, cracks and compromises suggested the Call Duty just can't keep both "good" and "fast" Modern Warfare 4's greatness how right is. is an extravagant package on all A kinetic 6v6 FPS truly gunplay, a fun campaign just play the hits, and an expansive "mode" would be its game if any other were on the box. I complaints, is it looks like Call Duty is in the pocket. The best Call Duty studio to take its time (four tied the longest in series and it shows. Multiplayer (Image Activision Blizzard) These days, whether not a Call Duty clicks me begins and the guns—how they look, animate, and change attachments—and is simply unmatched on those Modern Warfare 4's guns spit out layered, blasts will overpower voice chat by default they should). They shake world shoot them without in the way aim. They reload and flair without wasting time. loud and metallic without sounding plastic, like Treyarch guns always Modern Warfare 4 some the easiest guns to in the genre, yet in action, they substantial and weighty like a milsim. is the trick Call Duty studios regularly only one mastered. just being extra about guns in make them memorable. just being extra about guns in make them memorable. time, fun mixing both modern and dated weapons design language: The KG-7 is a functionally standard bolt-action rifle, its worn wooden and chipped green paint it's been fished out an aging armory. The Warlord, meanwhile, is a shotgun the profile a brutalist vessel—flanked by two translucent tubes can watch and refill use it. It's The biggest gaming news, and hardware deals Keep to the most stories and the best deals, picked by the Gamer team. Not every gun is even can produce 30+ guns without forgettable there is enough in arsenal to latch hours on-end. I've leveled three in just a week, my attachment setup every matches to suss out each "thing." In some cases, saved a gun by giving it cool attachments. The 86 was, to my eye, the most rifle in the game until I discovered an barrel all-but transforms it an MP5 in aesthetic and behavior FPS classic I'm always happy to Attachments feels like bigger here than ever before—you can only use at a time, and instead stuffing 20+ barrels, muzzles, and do almost the same there are fewer options category are usually the best at they also prestige attachments—the best idea to out those recent Black sequels. Called attachments in Modern Warfare 4, add-ons unique to each gun change their behavior add a dimension to how they only get these after maxing out a gun by having a blueprint them already so I don't many I love the ones I've played They range absurd to subtle: The Burst's turns it a hybrid rifle, beginning a sped-up burst and slower automatic fire I the trigger.The M4's swaps its magazine the top-mounted, graphics extended mag.The Oris gets side-mounted throwing (yes) can flick at enemies to the close-range weakness.The PPSH gets an underbarrel launcher spews napalm on the ground some on-the-fly denial. attachments aren't always worth the found the Mojave revolver's "fan the hammer" to fire faster an idea—but a way more enticing reason to in Modern Warfare 4 than camos gaudy playercards. (Image Activision Blizzard) should change Elsewhere in the land end caring about after 20 Call Duty" are nice quality-of-life touches in like the option to copy killstreak selections to other classes, assign skins on a per-class basis. there's all minutia is making a deal about: revamped allows smoother mantling and a depth field trick unblurs the screen, less disruptive better-looking hipfire. At the time, these all struck me minor improvements to trumpet and it's now clear why: Modern Warfare 4's multiplayer takes no swings. It at its core, about executing better already approach its upsides, like a ridiculous to detail, it underlines Activision's continued in challenging Call Duty's status Never a shooter franchise been so by design haven't been good years: Killstreaks are lopsided power trips matches to a screeching halt so the best player on the can rack more kills. Maps are square boxes three lanes and an verticality. favors making every gun the same zero-recoil, laser beam wins It been 19 since Call Duty 4, and I'm shot by a who spawned behind me in Deathmatch. (Image Activision Blizzard) The small country who make Call Duty could take a special interest in these they consistently don't. Instead, they design around bolted-on distractions—jetpacks, abilities, Omnimovement—while actual like and DMZ, happen elsewhere on the main We should all want more a series asks to fork over $70 every There is one exception, and it's sadly flying the radar so far. Among Modern Warfare 4's modes (several which are made destined to be ignored) is a TDM variant one change: spawn on opposite sides the and those spawns never change. It sounds so it's the greatest thing to happen to Call Duty multiplayer in a generation. 1 4 (Image Activision Blizzard) 1 4 View Original 2 4 View Original 3 4 View Original 4 4 View Original I almost believe how much better Call Duty plays spawns: I can confidently move the map an idea where enemies will from, which matches an understandable continuity—a sense Matches are slower, lives more deliberate, and I'm not shot in the My once, not to the pull a slot We territory, they territory, and there's a middle ground to fight It's a winning formula worked in better shooters decades (Team 2, anyone?), and singlehandedly a gigantic problem these games. is easily my favorite way to play Call Duty and should become the knowing Activision and the Call Duty audience, it'll be cycled out the game and forgotten by next quarter. (Image Activision) in many ways, proof Call Duty be afraid to change. Going my first the mode, I honestly thought the thing I needed another shooter. can be so consuming its long grinds and stakes that, beyond the Hunt: Showdown night these days I gravitate to the more consistent, and end the FPS spectrum. There is no "pick and play" wasn't, until now. made exactly it's DMZ: A full-fledged shooter could be a standalone game like Tarkov Marathon, is instead the third a yearly Call Duty installment. Its systems are its Hajin City map haunting and and it might the least annoying any game like it. (Image Activision) definitely room improvement, I'm I look at Modern Warfare 4's iterative multiplayer and wonder been these past four I realize is it. To sets apart is how isn't so in loss. Money is easy to make a valuables, faction assignments, and (multi-step missions randomly the map). Cash earned these missions is meaning I can't lose it even if I die without I'm less likely to actually die than in other games, because I can myself a DBNO state at the cost max health. accrues XP unlocks at my FOB, crafting recipes make runs more convenient, and traits enhance my operator. Some those traits are a huge like a free self-revive in every match, and they don't I a game. Instead, dying in the field triggers an status I can clear any time by dropping a wad cash. It's generous type game, and I like it. me to always move forward, and in sense, it sometimes feels more like a Call Duty (Image Activision) it's not like is immune to gear fear: I a moments where an especially rare stack crafting materials I needed upgrades, a rare blueprint burning a hole in my pack I to sneak off to an site. Hajin non-player threats—soldier patrols, and drones snitch on you—have yet to surprise on the level Arc sophisticated apocalypse machines, they could easily I took my eye off the ball. I to call the NPC soldiers a bunch until they nearly ruined my best run gets to my other favorite part DMZ: Every shooter chores, a lot events, locations, and formalized missions can grocery runs something bigger. A round Like one time, a match started a solo trip to find synthetics" a stash upgrade been working toward. The description said found in residential areas, so I an apartment building, looted a and found something I wasn't looking for: a rare to the "Netshin IT Room." a helpful Unlocks the high-security room deep within the on the upper floors the Netshin Complex within The Grid. sidequest I love the hint didn't give I knew generally where I going and to look for, no waypoint to follow. So I drove to the the city and found The Grid, one the most dangerous zones in can tell because it's red on the map and walled off on all announcing you'd to be dumb to run in there (Image Activision) So I ran in alone, storming the Netshin and almost dying to heavily armored grunts I ran six flights stairs an elevator) until I reached the top and started every door. Surprisingly, there were other locked in Netshin led to other exclusive areas, and Netshin is just one highrise in part the city—this map is dense. I finally found the IT used the key, and strolled in hit the jackpot. Not quite: actually the nest Jang-ui, one Hajin's "lieutenants" a chance to appear in each Auto-turrets placed in all four corners the room me by surprise and almost killed me on their own, and reinforcements elsewhere in the in well. It a squirrely fight typical Call Duty Lots sprinting across the room to time reloads, dumping pounds Jang-ui's stupid head, and G to replenish armor. finally died, and the rewards were huge: A burst rifle unique to the boss fight and a manual that'd a gun crafting. That, plus a pile materials, including the synthetics been looking for. It a sweet haul I really didn't lose, which felt very I out ammo. I thought sure I home free I found a shaft spit me out on the scaffolding a sky hidden exit! there I could just jump off to and it would've been the end to little adventure, I didn't a parachute. So the first time, I actually used DMZ's rudimentary system to sneak out Netshin, hiding behind and scrounging bullet scraps until I the same way I entered. (Image Activision) PvEvolution It a genuinely self-appointed mission felt like the best case DMZ. Not every part the PvE experience is Call Duty can't how normal dudes heavy just aren't interesting opponents. They can't stack to Arc Raiders drones, Hunt: Showdown's supernatural even Marathon's UESC corps. those are all games if you're fighting the environment, you're playing them wrong: They are, in multiplayer games until the moment PvP kicks I don't think will be like that. The fodder soldiers are also everywhere. Killing a make so much noise you're the whole map—relative to its size, Hajin isn't players Warzone's battle modes. I felt relatively safe to AI patrols their plates and without feeling forced an awkward playstyle. That's good, because worth in Hajin plays out like a Spec mission (we all remember Modern Warfare co-op mode, right?), including the six "story are even more campaign-like in nature. (Image Activision) Call Duty can't how normal dudes heavy just aren't interesting opponents. Story missions are narrative-focused tasks available on. They more bespoke ingredients than the Ops: There's one about a casino heist and another manually pushing a gurney hospital hallways while AI on all sides. These are fun and well, they don't change match to It seems like these a guided on-ramp players to shooters. to a story mission before the match starts, and if do, be the only squad in the match mission. So while DMZ's PvE factions don't out, the incentives fighting them are repetitive did the same "blow the chemical routine three times over two days—but a better to explore than just opening boxes and praying the duct tape. directly a weakness both Arc Raiders and Marathon, and they'd be smart to it. It's fascinating how is throwing its weight behind both PvE and PvP here, because I can't really the same its competitors. Arc Raiders at least to about sneaking and scavenging in dangerous not picking fights other players. In and Hunt, the loot and boss fights are just the pretense (Image Activision) sprawls out in both directions, which it a unique angle, also it isn't the best at either play style. PvP fights been surprisingly so far a lot like firefights, so just OK. Call Duty's time-to-kill (even plates) and generous assist it's hard to bounce back being the one to start shooting, and leads to fights one squadmate already down. It's a lot like fighting squads in so just OK, it helps can always revive the squad if one lives. told me designed to time, and really comes through. I love the little touches streamlining is a Call Duty shooter, like how don't need to stuff backpack plates, stacks before heading all handled automatically. The game's also smart enough to loot the most stuff you, like ammo, crafting materials, and items can stack in my backpack without extra space. Games much looting is usually a turn-off, it's very and pleasant here. They really went and made a shooter within Call Duty, and it's surprisingly good. Campaign (Image Activision Blizzard) I watched the roll on Modern Warfare 4's campaign, a sobering thought I've been playing Call Duty two-thirds my life. While I consider it a multiplayer game these days, I loved about Call Duty all time ago its campaigns. In a shy fourth grader at a I made my first friend because we both played Call Duty 3 on the Wii and spent a recounting cool moments the campaign over lunch. By 2007 year Modern Warfare, course), our table losing its collective over the part where Captain Price slides the right we thought at the time) dies. memorable was, it marked the moment Call Duty became globe-trotting about superhuman, super serious who prevent WW3 before breakfast. It badass at the time, they gained in the sort makes great Sunday Night ads, they lost in relatability. (Image Activision Blizzard) those WW2 campaigns were shlocky on movies, they starred normal people who to go home—grizzled sergeants and green who fended off helplessness humor. They large-scale offensives won by contributions. That's the energy tries to again in Modern Warfare 4. At times, it works. is the most fun I've a Call Duty campaign in lending mostly to its non-elite faces. Over half the campaign revolves around a crew young marines (plus a Americans) out the clock on their compulsory military Korea suddenly invades. The themselves are familiar archetypes—a serious an audience insert who talk an American who fills every silence a basically charming enough I cared to remember their I like the idea, even if latest "ripped the premise a offensive continues streak flattening complex foreign a conventionally American lens (while making the CIA's dogs the good guys). never which global superpower is really pulling the time, ya'll. (Image Activision Blizzard) Going dark Playing a "cog in a again unlocks Modern Warfare 4's most standout missions Playing a "cog in a again unlocks Modern Warfare 4's most standout missions, many which remind me the best days. "Mayhem" and "Losing follow a futile attempt to the Hajin City against the overwhelming invasion. chaotic fights where characters are noticeably what's happening (a in a post-Price world) and side is outnumbered. Later on, Attack" ramps the scale and a massive beachfront can only really be achieved by throwing a amount money at it. It's certainly a better use resources than the gimmicky, Warzone-y campaigns recent Black sequels. Even the action gets Private Park (no and friends are simply fun to follow. "Stranded" picks the squad landing behind enemy lines in and its best swing at a sandbox level to date. The mission establishes three non-linear objectives, side and a hideout where can craft better armor, and camouflage. It's a comparatively quiet, mission than the ones precede it—almost like playing a micro Far in the middle a CoD campaign. It a bit at first, ended a major (Image Activision Blizzard) I worried would prove to be another instance sneaking the mission uses the looting system, I told the map made just the campaign, which is nice. crafted a whole campaign around Park's squad, and I'm not sure they didn't. Instead, their story runs parallel to the disconnected Captain Price, now a fugitive because some Modern Warfare 3 business most people didn't game acknowledges by playing a lengthy recap (Image Activision Blizzard) Modern Warfare 4 tries to explore a darker Price while replaying the hits—a chase shooting, a foot chase jumping, a knife fight—but these sequences my quickly they ended. It's bizarre how and less interesting part the game especially considering Price basically exits the story the back half and never intersects the heroes. It comes off boxes the folks who are expecting Price stuff while also desperately, to do something else. billed the the Modern Warfare story started in 2019, in it's more like a sprint to be done it It's a shame they dragged Mads the one—he been a menacing in a campaign actually time to use him. It to the quality series lately producing a campaign extravagant setpieces, lavish cinematics, and basically great is a win. Uncompromised by the influence is the first time in too long Call Duty's campaign does not like the afterthought.
Readers following the wider topic will recognise several familiar threads here, and further updates are expected as more becomes known. Nothing above should be read as speculation beyond what the reporting itself supports.