Modern Warfare 4 Is Out Now: Review Scores, Launch Maps and Why It's Not on Game Pass

Modern Warfare 4 launches today on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Switch 2. Here's what critics think, what's in the launch playlist and what's missing.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is out today, October 23, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2. Digital pre-order owners have already had a week with the campaign and a few days in DMZ, so the verdicts are in. The short version: Infinity Ward's darker, Korea-set entry is getting the best reception the series has seen in a while, with multiplayer as the part that divides opinion.

The review scores

At the time of writing, the PC version holds a Metacritic score of 84 ("generally favorable"), while the PS5 and Switch 2 pages don't yet have enough reviews for a score. On OpenCritic, the Top Critic Average is 77, and every critic counted so far recommends the game – though only a handful of reviews are in, so both numbers will move over the weekend.

Some of the notable scores so far:

Most of the big outlets held back their final verdicts until they'd played enough multiplayer and DMZ on live servers, which is why several reviews were published as in-progress campaign impressions last week.

The campaign is the star

The single-player story has been the surprise. It follows South Korean soldiers through a North Korean invasion of the peninsula, while Captain Price pursues a personal mission – with Mads Mikkelsen as the villain, known as the Archer. GameSpot called it the best Call of Duty campaign since the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot, and PC Gamer said it was the most fun it had had with a series campaign in years.

It's not flawless. The campaign runs about six hours across 16 missions, and several reviewers felt the ending is rushed. Game Informer and others also found Mikkelsen's Archer underused, which stings given how heavily he featured in the marketing. Game Informer flagged occasional frame drops in the busiest scenes and frequent texture pop-in on PC as well.

Players seem to agree with the critics on the story: during the early-access week the campaign sat at "Very Positive" on Steam.

DMZ wins people over, multiplayer is the debate

DMZ, the returning extraction mode, is landing well. It's set in Hajin, an irradiated exclusion zone on the Korean Peninsula, and can be played solo, in duos or in trios. Game Informer went as far as calling it the definitive Call of Duty extraction shooter.

Multiplayer gets more mixed notes. Critics praise the map design, gunplay and the variety of modes, including the new large-scale Combat Outpost mode in Ground War. The main complaints are that it's slower and less fluid than the recent Black Ops games and can get repetitive over long sessions.

What's in the launch playlist

According to the launch update notes, Modern Warfare 4 ships with:

• 12 core 6v6 maps, including Mumbai, Nautical, Coal and Reactor U92
• 4 Gunfight maps and 3 Ground War maps
• Kill Block, a modular training-facility map for 3v3 and 10v10 play
• New modes Hijack, Inflation, Collateral and Combat Outpost, alongside staples like Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed and Search & Destroy

Fan favorite Shipment follows shortly after launch, on October 27. A Halloween mode called Possession and the return of Infected are also planned before Season 1, but without exact dates yet.

No Open matchmaking at launch

One sore point on day one: multiplayer launched without Open matchmaking playlists. Activision said back in July that its new matchmaking system is meant to improve team balance and handle mixed-skill parties better, and that Open playlists would stay available in Black Ops 7 and the MW4 beta – but it never promised them for launch. Some players are reporting long queues and overly competitive lobbies, though it isn't clear whether that's down to matchmaking. Neither Infinity Ward nor Activision had addressed the missing playlists when this was written.

Not on Game Pass until Holiday 2027

If you were waiting to play on Game Pass, you'll be waiting a while. Unlike Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7, Modern Warfare 4 is a standalone purchase at launch and won't join Game Pass until Holiday 2027. Game Pass Ultimate members still have Black Ops 7, Black Ops 6 and Modern Warfare III. The game also skips PS4 and Xbox One entirely.

Should you jump in?

If you play Call of Duty mainly for the story, this looks like the easiest recommendation the series has had in years – just know the campaign is short and the ending divides people. DMZ fans have plenty to dig into from day one. If you live in multiplayer, expect a slower, more tactical rhythm than Black Ops 7, and keep an eye on how Infinity Ward responds to the matchmaking feedback in the first weeks.

This article was written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games are updated regularly, so details may change.