After 2025's poorly received Black Ops 7, critics say Modern Warfare 4 is a return to form for the franchise

Activision has a lot riding on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Last year's entry, Black Ops 7, was poorly received by critics and players, and third-party tracking data suggested the game significantly underperformed compared to other entries in the series.

Early reviews suggest Infinity Ward has regained its momentum with MW4, which currently holds a generally favourable Metacritic score of 84 and has been praised as a return to form.

IGN's Simon Cardy noted that Infinity Ward has "handled this challenge well" in his review-in-progress for the game's story campaign, resulting in "a genuinely exciting string of missions that are great when they focus on what is new, rather than getting bogged down in the past."

Game Informer's Michael Murphy, who rated it 8.5/10, agreed: "MW4 arrives at a crossroads for the series, thanks in large part to the inconsistent quality of recent entries. With a shaky predecessor, Infinity Ward had a lot to repair and conclude, especially with 4 set to bookend the rebooted Modern Warfare series."

MW4 is also the first CoD to launch on a Nintendo console since 2013, and Nintendo Life's Gavin Lane said the title does not disappoint in his 9/10 review, calling it "impressive".

"On Switch 2, you're getting the entire package, presented well, with crossplay and cross-progression," he said, noting that although the campaign runs at 30fps on Nintendo's console (multiplayer aims for 60fps), MW4 "feels smooth in the hands."

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