Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s Steam reviews are Very Positive five days before launch. As of 20:30 UTC on October 18, Steam counts 3,156 reviews across all languages, and 2,897 of them (92%) recommend the game. Every one of those reviews comes from Campaign Early Access, which opened on October 16 for digital pre-orders. Multiplayer and DMZ aren’t playable yet, so this is a verdict on the story mode only.
Players now agree with the critics in our Modern Warfare 4 reviews roundup. Here is how the Steam numbers moved, how they compare with older Call of Duty games, and what the negative reviews say.
Steam players single out the South Korean missions in early access reviews. Image: Activision
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Modern Warfare 4 Steam reviews by the numbers
All figures come from Steam’s own review data for the Modern Warfare 4 store page, checked October 18, 20:30 UTC:
- All languages: 2,897 positive of 3,156 (91.8%), rated Very Positive.
- Steam purchasers only: 2,387 of 2,609 (91.5%).
- English reviews: the store page shows 93% positive of about 1,150.
- By day: 78% positive on October 16 (283 reviews in the first hours of early access), 92% on October 17 (1,304) and 94% so far on October 18 (1,080), according to Steam’s review history chart.
The trend is upward. Of the English negative reviews posted on October 16, nearly half are about finding, installing or launching the game rather than the campaign itself.
How MW4 compares with other Call of Duty games on Steam
Current all-time ratings for Call of Duty games with their own Steam pages, from the same data at the same time:
| Game (year) | Positive | Reviews | Steam rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modern Warfare 2 (2009) | 93.4% | 61,212 | Very Positive |
| World at War (2008) | 92.4% | 53,493 | Very Positive |
| Modern Warfare 4 (2026, early access) | 91.8% | 3,156 | Very Positive |
| Black Ops (2010) | 91.0% | 43,402 | Very Positive |
| Black Ops III (2015) | 85.2% | 234,880 | Very Positive |
| Modern Warfare (2019) | 79.0% | 46,029 | Mostly Positive |
| Modern Warfare III (2023) | 48.1% | 24,198 | Mixed |
| Black Ops 6 (2024) | 45.5% | 16,500 | Mixed |
| Black Ops 7 (2025) | 37.8% | 5,132 | Mostly Negative |
On today’s counts, MW4’s share is higher than every Call of Duty released after 2010’s Black Ops. Only the oldest entries, such as Call of Duty 4 (93.7%), Call of Duty 2 (93.8%) and the 2003 original (94.7%), rate higher. Treat the comparison with care. MW4’s sample is small and comes from early buyers of a campaign. The older games’ totals cover years of multiplayer, and Modern Warfare (2019) only reached Steam in 2023. Recent games were also sold through the shared Call of Duty app, whose own page sits at 58.7% (Mixed) from 785,788 reviews.
Multiplayer and DMZ, where recent Call of Duty games lost their Steam ratings, are not playable yet. Image: Activision
What the negative Steam reviews say
Many negative reviews target how MW4 is delivered on PC rather than the campaign. The developer account has replied to many of them:
- The Call of Duty app. On Steam, MW4 installs as DLC inside the shared “Call of Duty” app rather than as a standalone game, and many early buyers couldn’t find their early access. Activision’s replies direct players to the DLC section of that app and say the shared install “helps reduce storage space used”.
- TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. A widely upvoted negative review reports a failed security attestation that asks for a BIOS update. The developer replied that the requirement applies to online play only, starting with DMZ Early Access on October 20. It added that some configurations may need a BIOS update and that it is working with hardware makers on compatibility issues.
- DLSS with ray tracing. Players can’t combine DLSS with the VRRT ray tracing denoiser. Activision says the lock is intentional because its testing showed the pairing “could considerably degrade the experience”, and it suggests Filmic SMAA T2X instead. Our MW4 Switch 2 DLSS explainer covers how the upscalers differ.
- Crashes and the story. Some players report crashes when starting the campaign, and Activision says it is investigating. Others criticise Captain Price’s half of the story and the quick-time melee fights, the same weak spots critics raised.
Positive reviews mostly praise the campaign as the series’ best in years. Several single out the South Korean missions. For mission counts and playtime, see our MW4 campaign length guide.
What’s next
The real test starts with DMZ Early Access on October 20 and the full launch with multiplayer on October 23. Activision says the game unlocks at midnight local time on October 23, while Steam’s US store page lists October 22. Recent Call of Duty games lost most of their Steam goodwill after launch, through multiplayer, so expect this rating to move once those modes open. Our MW4 early access and preload guide has the schedule and edition details.
Sources: Steam store page and review data (checked October 18, 20:30 UTC), Steam user reviews and developer replies, Call of Duty blog.
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Featured image: Activision
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