Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will focus on Korea, next-gen and added realism – a preview
A new setting, revamped gameplay and massive technical advancements. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 looks promising.
Activision has unveiled the newest Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 4. For the first time in series history, the fourth instalment takes you to the Korean Peninsula.
I was able to get a glimpse of game four in the saga during a hands-off presentation. Read on to find out what else you can expect besides the new setting.
Last-gen is old news, the Switch 2 is coming
First off, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is being developed by Infinity Ward and will be released on 23 October. It’s the first Call of Duty game in this hardware generation that won’t be released for last-gen consoles – no luck for PS4 and Xbox One owners. Fans on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC can look forward to what Activision is calling the most immersive and technically advanced Call of Duty ever. The studio’s moved beyond the limitations of old hardware in order to unlock new possibilities within the engine.
Source: Activision
After a prolonged hiatus, Activision’s venturing back onto a Nintendo platform. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will be released on the Switch 2 at launch too. Activision hasn’t released any images or video footage yet – but according to co-studio head Jack O’Hara, the game’s running very well on mobile hardware.
The Switch 2 version’s being developed in collaboration with Spanish studio Digital Legends. Most recently, the company was in charge of the mobile version of Call of Duty: Warzone, also working on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as a support studio.
Source: Activision
What’s the campaign about?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will be set largely on the Korean Peninsula in the present day. South Korean cities are being bombed and occupied by North Korean troops. You’ll experience the invasion from different perspectives. According to the studio, the campaign’s finale will escalate into a fast-paced crisis unlike anything the Call of Duty series has ever tackled before.
Source: Activision
Why did the studio choose Korea as the setting? O’Hara puts this choice down to the Korean term Hallyu – a word used to describe the growing international influence of Korean pop culture around the world. «Right now, we’re in the third Hallyu wave. K-pop is bigger than ever. Korean films such as KPop Demon Hunters and Parasite are winning Oscars. And we’ve become big fans of Korean rap ourselves. We love Korean pop culture, and it’s exciting to incorporate these influences into a Call of Duty game.»
O’Hara goes on to explain that the campaign will return to its roots and aims to offer fans a dark, realistic narrative: «When you see our game, you should feel like the story could be ripped from headlines.» Korea provides the perfect setting for such a story: «The curious thing about North and South Korea is that they’ve been stuck in a stalemate ever since the Korean War.» O’Hara shows me a map illustrating how many artillery pieces in North Korea are aimed at the South Korean capital, Seoul. «People in South Korea don’t pay much attention to this looming danger. But it’s there. And that’s the perfect starting point for our story.»
The narrative perspective is also intended to bring a breath of fresh air. You don’t play as seasoned super soldiers, but as young South Korean and American recruits between the ages of 18 and 25 who have no idea what’s going on. What’s particularly exciting: the game will feature sections set in North Korea too, where you’ll get a glimpse behind enemy lines and into life under the dictatorship.
Source: Activision
At the other end of the narrative spectrum is the story of seasoned British captain John Price. He’s been on the run ever since the events of Modern Warfare 3. Alongside him, you’ll be travelling to locations like New York, Paris, Mumbai and Russia. These scenes are meant to evoke Bourne and James Bond spy films. As the game progresses, these two storylines intertwine and culminate in a spectacular finale.
What I’ve seen of the campaign so far makes me very optimistic. Modern Warfare 4 promises to deliver polished, popcorn-bucket blockbuster action once again – without the graphical limitations of the previous console generation. Activision has also confirmed that the campaign can be played offline and includes a pause feature. Sounds ridiculous to even mention, but after the dismal campaign we got in last year’s Black Ops 7, it’s wonderful news for the wounded Call of Duty faithful.
Source: Activision
What can you expect from multiplayer?
Twelve brand-new 6v6 maps will be available at launch. Some of them are based on locations from the campaign, others were developed specifically for the multiplayer. In addition, Modern Warfare 4 will feature several Big War maps akin to those in Battlefield. Another new feature is the so-called Kill Block, a map with dynamic elements that change every time you visit. Reportedly, over 500 map configurations will be possible. According to Infinity Ward, the inspiration for modular maps came from Real Madrid’s football stadium, with a pitch that can split in two and lower itself on rails for concerts and other events.
Source: Activision
For dedicated players, levelling up a weapon in multiplayer unlocks new Apex Attachments as a final reward – attachments designed to completely transform a weapon’s playstyle. The studio showcases attachments that let you fire knives, completely silence your weapon or briefly blind enemies while shooting.
Infinity Ward also promises a wider selection of weapons, field upgrades and killstreaks. A new assistant – affectionately nicknamed Gunny – is designed to help new players craft a powerful build by offering suggestions.
Source: Activision
There have also been changes made to the Prestige System. Now, when you reach max level, you can choose between two Prestige paths. Classic Prestige works just like the previous system. Your unlocks will be reset, but in return you’ll get more XP and exclusive rewards. In Regular Prestige, you instead keep your unlocks, but you earn less XP and receive fewer rewards than in Classic. With this change, Infinity Ward hopes that more players will embark on a Prestige path.
DMZ is back
In addition to the single-player campaign and multiplayer, Infinity Ward’s bringing back DMZ mode. The studio already experimented with extraction shooters in Call of Duty four years ago as part of Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0. But it remained a mere experiment – the concept never made it past the beta phase, despite widespread positive feedback from the community. As Multiplayer Creative Director Joe Cecot announced with a smile: «This time, we’ve developed a real DMZ mode.»
Source: Activision
You’ll head into a conflict zone – either alone or with three teammates – and have to steal all sorts of valuable military equipment. Dynamic conditions make life hard for you – constantly changing weather, shifting objectives and enemy soldiers can quickly end your life. The studio’s motto for DMZ mode: «The more you put into it, the harder the world hits back.»
Activision isn’t revealing any more details at this time. More information about DMZ mode will be released at a later date.
New gameplay features for hardcore fans
During its presentation, Infinity Ward expressed particular pride in gameplay changes that’ll appeal especially to hardcore fans.
The studio’s placing a special emphasis on revamped controls. In previous Call of Duty games – and, as Activision points out, in other shooters such as Battlefield too – the so-called Weapon Bloom system was used when hip-firing. Specifically, this refers to a game randomly determining the direction in which a bullet flies within a certain radius.
Modern Warfare 4 will no longer feature this weapon spread. According to multiplayer developer Jack Reynolds, the game will be the first AAA shooter to move away from this «outdated technology.» The weapon’s position and direction of fire will be calculated using a new physics system that takes player movement and factors such as recoil into account. As Reynolds proudly puts it: «In our game, bullets will always fly exactly where your gun’s pointing.»
Source: Activision
The movement system’s also been revamped. Reynolds explains: «We took a close look at all game mechanics that felt unnecessarily clunky or tired and redesigned them.»
Running, jumping and climbing through levels should feel faster, more realistic and smoother. Reynolds showed a clip from a parkour level. It was developed for internal testing, but proved so popular within the studio that it’ll be playable at launch. The gameplay shown reminds me of games like Mirror’s Edge. The player effortlessly shimmies along ledges, slides down pipes and glides over cars while shooting cardboard enemies. Awesome.
Source: Activision
Work was also done on the visual design of weapons. They’re now positioned more naturally within the field of view and react to obstacles and walls. Muzzle effects while firing have been completely revamped too using new smoke simulation. Thanks to new rendering technology, the depth-of-field when aiming through sights is designed to look more realistic and even improve shooting accuracy.
Competitive gamers will also find the new field-of-view (FOV) options interesting. There’s usually a trade-off with FOV: a narrower field of view makes targets appear larger on the screen, but limits overall range of sight. A wider field of view provides greater situational awareness, but makes objects appear farther away than they actually are. Modern Warfare 4 will also feature scalable lens distortion that enlarges content in the centre of the screen as the field of view increases. There’s a neat side effect: according to Infinity Ward, the game will feel more cinematic as a result.
You can check out my review of last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 here:
My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.
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