The first wave of reactions to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 campaign is in, and players are having a great time with it. Campaign Early Access opened on Friday (October 16th) for everyone who digitally pre-ordered or pre-purchased the game, and plenty of them have already rolled credits.
Early reactions from players and well-known Call of Duty creators have been very positive so far, with many of them putting it near the top of the series. Former pro and OpTic member Methodz was one of the first to weigh in after finishing it:
Call of Duty veteran Sam "Octane" Larew went even further, calling it one of the best campaigns the franchise has ever had and giving a shout out to developer Infinity Ward:
The official Call of Duty account has been busy sharing posts like these all weekend, so it is fair to say Activision is happy with how things are going. Not every player will feel the same way once more people get their hands on it, but the early mood is clearly a good one.
What The Steam Reviews Say
The numbers on Steam back up the reactions. At the time of writing, Modern Warfare 4 has a Very Positive user rating on the platform, with 2,402 of its 2,629 reviews recommending the game. That works out to roughly 91% positive, which is a strong start for any Call of Duty, especially since only the campaign is playable right now.
That last part is important. Steam reviews at this stage are mostly about the story mode, because DMZ and multiplayer are not live yet. The score could move once the rest of the game opens up and players start judging maps, weapons, and servers.
Many of the players praising the campaign have been comparing it to the original Modern Warfare trilogy, and some see it as a much-needed bounce back after last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign got a rough reception.
What The Campaign Is About
The Modern Warfare 4 campaign has sixteen missions that take players across the Korean Peninsula, Paris, New York, and Mumbai. Players step into the role of Private Park Hyun Jun as he and his squad fight back against a full-scale invasion, while Captain John Price, now an outlaw, goes on the hunt for the person pulling the strings.
A big part of that story is The Archer, played by Mads Mikkelsen. Narrative director Jeff Negas explained the casting in an interview with Variety, saying Mikkelsen was "the most right dude for the part." He added that the team needed someone a wider audience "could recognize" quickly, since "Price wants to kill him and he's willing to go to some great lengths to do so."
You can check out the official campaign trailer below:
Finishing the campaign also comes with rewards. Players unlock a series of Operators, calling cards, an emblem, a loading screen, and several Double XP and Double Weapon XP tokens as they progress, all of which carry over into multiplayer and DMZ when the full game launches.
DMZ Early Access And Launch Dates
The next step for early access players is DMZ, the extraction mode. An update needed for DMZ Early Access will roll out on all platforms by 9 AM PT tomorrow (October 19th), and the mode goes live globally at 10 AM PT on Tuesday (October 20th) for digital pre-order and pre-purchase owners. Any XP and Weapon XP earned there will count toward career progression and unlocks in the full game, including camos.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches in full next week (October 23rd) on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC through Battle.net, Xbox on PC, and Steam, plus Nintendo Switch 2. Activision has also confirmed that the game will not be on Game Pass at launch, and will only join the service in Holiday 2027.
Does the Modern Warfare 4 campaign live up to the original trilogy for you, or does it still fall short of those classics?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.