Pre-order early access to a campaign is usually a gamble. Give players the solo mode before the full game drops and you're essentially handing critics a head start. Infinity Ward and Activision took that risk with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and right now it's paying off in a big way.
The MW4 campaign went live for pre-order holders ahead of the game's full October 23 release date, and PC players have been vocal about what they think. At time of writing, the game sits at 94% positive on Steam, earning it a "Very Positive" label on Valve's platform.
How that stacks up against recent Call of Duty entries
Here's the thing: 94% is not a number you see attached to Call of Duty campaigns. Looking back at Steam review data for recent entries in the franchise, neither Black Ops 7 nor Modern Warfare 3 came close to that figure during their respective launch windows. Both games launched to noticeably lower sentiment on the platform, with review curves that started lower and took time to climb.
The gap isn't marginal. It's the kind of difference that signals a genuine shift in player reception, not just a statistical blip from a small review pool.
What's driving the positive response
MW4's campaign spans 16 missions set across multiple global locations, which is a meaningful step up in scope compared to recent entries. The grunt-level perspective Infinity Ward pitched during development, described by the studio as feeling "ripped from the headlines," appears to be resonating. Early players are responding to set pieces and moment-to-moment storytelling in a way that Call of Duty campaigns haven't inspired in years.
The narrative team cited Denis Villeneuve's Sicario as a tonal reference point, and that influence seems to be landing. Grounded, tense, and character-driven is a different pitch than the franchise has leaned on for most of the last decade.
Call of Duty campaigns have spent years playing second fiddle to multiplayer and Warzone. The single-player mode became something fans completed once, if at all, before moving on. MW4 looks like a genuine attempt to change that, and the Steam numbers suggest players are noticing.
The early access strategy that actually worked
Letting pre-order buyers play the full campaign before launch weekend is a bold move. It means your solo mode gets scrutinized in isolation, without the goodwill of a fresh multiplayer launch to soften any rough edges. If the campaign were weak, those Steam reviews would reflect it immediately.
Instead, the opposite happened. The early access window essentially became a word-of-mouth engine, with positive impressions spreading before the game is even fully available. That's the best possible outcome for a franchise that has spent years trying to remind players its campaigns are worth playing.
The full game releases October 23 across PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. If you want to dig into what's waiting across all 16 missions before you buy, the MW4 campaign length and missions guide breaks down every mission and its rewards. For collectible hunters, the all notes locations guide covers every hidden note across the campaign's missions.
