If you’re buying Modern Warfare 4, buy it for the multiplayer. I don’t know anyone who plays Call of Duty for the campaign. They might play it, but that’s not why they bought it, and it hasn’t been since the early games.
Modern Warfare 4 launches on 22 October at $69.99 on Steam (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on Steam). The campaign has already started a row over one scene, and I don’t get why.
What is the Modern Warfare 4 campaign about?
North Korea launches a full-scale invasion of the South. You fight as Private Park, a young South Korean soldier on the front line, while Captain Price wages an off-book war of his own (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on Steam).
The store page lists trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters fights in New York, chases through Paris and SAS night raids in Mumbai. Activision’s own pitch says it pushes the series “into darker and more dangerous territory”.
Anyone who pre-purchased got campaign early access from 16 October, and DMZ early access from 20 October. That’s why people are already arguing about the campaign before launch day.
Is the Modern Warfare 4 campaign worth buying it for?
Not on its own, no. For any Call of Duty since the early ones, I don’t think the campaign is ever the reason people play it. People might play the campaign, but they bought Call of Duty for the multiplayer.
IGN’s review says Modern Warfare 4 “may not have quite enough to be considered amongst the very best Call of Duty campaigns”, but that if this is the end of this particular saga, “at least it’s going out on a high note” (IGN on X).
What is the Modern Warfare 4 hanging scene?
Early in the campaign, the game orders you to hang a man. CharlieIntel’s post about it on 17 October has over a million views.
https://x.com/charlieINTEL/status/2111500413333557430
It happens in the third mission, Following Orders, where you’re told to hang a defector. You can refuse, but refusing doesn’t save anyone: he still dies (every Modern Warfare 4 campaign choice explained). Refuse and your own character gets shot.
Is the hanging scene too far?
I don’t think so. You’ve bought a murder gun simulator. Why is the line “don’t hang someone”? Some people are raising the morality of it, but the whole game is about killing people with guns.
If you’re really getting into the story, you might assume the villains aren’t doing this kind of thing. But Call of Duty has had you mowing down people in an airport before. In Modern Warfare 2’s “No Russian” level, you play an undercover agent taking part in a mass shooting at a Moscow airport (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2).
Is it just because hanging someone is more personal? It’s more personal to stab someone than to shoot them, too. You’re still taking someone’s life either way. It’s just the vehicle you’re using to do it, so I don’t really understand the controversy.
Can Modern Warfare 4 capture what the old Call of Duty was like?
I’m not sure, from what I’ve seen. I just don’t think anyone is going to capture what gaming was like back then. It comes back to where gaming is now and what people want from it.
It’s the same thing I’ve said about WoW Classic and WoW Forever. Classic fit how people played back then, but it doesn’t fit how people are now. Forever is in line with what people want to play today and how they play games now. I wrote about what’s new in WoW Forever’s levelling if you want to see what I mean.
Is this the end of the Modern Warfare saga?
IGN’s review treats it as possibly the end of this saga. But Call of Duty itself will never end. They’ll milk it forever, long after it’s a dead horse.
It’s the same with Assassin’s Creed. That franchise is going to live forever, Call of Duty probably will too, and plenty of others will keep getting slopped out.
If you want the rest of the coverage, the Modern Warfare 4 page has the guides as they come out.
FAQ
When does Modern Warfare 4 come out? 22 October 2026, at $69.99 on Steam (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on Steam).
Can you refuse the hanging in Modern Warfare 4? Yes, but your character gets shot, and the defector dies anyway.
Is the Modern Warfare 4 campaign good? IGN says it isn’t quite one of the very best Call of Duty campaigns, but ends this saga on a high note.
