The big picture: Ahead of its official release later this week, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is offering early access to its campaign to players who pre-order the game. As expected, thousands of players are taking advantage of the opportunity and the vast majority seem to be impressed by the gameplay, graphics and storyline.
The game currently has a total of 4,068 reviews on Steam, including 3,438 from verified buyers. Of these reviews, 94% are positive, giving the game an overall “Very Positive” rating and making it the best-reviewed Call of Duty release on Steam since Black Ops 2010. The SteamDB reviews were first published by Insider Gaming last week, when the game had around 900 reviews and an 81.5% positive rating.
In stark contrast to the overwhelmingly positive response to Modern Warfare 4, recent releases in the Call of Duty series have struggled to even reach the 50 percent mark. 2025’s Black Ops 7 has a rating of 38.7% on SteamDB, while 2024’s Black Ops 6 and 2023’s Modern Warfare III have a rating of 45.7% and 48.1%, respectively. The only other current CoD title with a similarly high rating is Black Ops III, which currently has 84.3% positive reviews.
The positive initial response to Modern Warfare 4 should be a relief for Activision, which has struggled in recent years. Not only have recent mainline CoD releases drawn lukewarm reactions from players and reviewers alike, but the company has also faced significant financial and creative challenges, leading to multiple rounds of layoffs since Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision in 2023.
However, Modern Warfare 4’s unusually high rating could change significantly once the game becomes more widely available later this week and players get a chance to try out its multiplayer offerings. These include 12 6v6 core maps and the extraction shooter mode “DMZ,” in which multiple squads of up to three players are stationed in an area known as the “Exclusion Zone.”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 releases on Friday, October 23rd for Windows, Xbox Series
