Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter game created by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the fourth main game in the Call of Duty series. This game changes from the World War II setting of earlier games and is set in the modern era. It took two years to make, and Modern Warfare was released in November 2007 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows. A version for the Wii, made by Treyarch and called Reflex Edition, was released in 2009. Two follow-up games continued the story: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Modern Warfare 3 (2011).
The game received high praise, especially for its gameplay and story. It won many "Game of the Year" awards and two BAFTA Video Games Awards. It was the top-selling game worldwide in 2007, selling about seven million copies by January 2008 and nearly sixteen million by November 2013. Reviewers later said it is one of the best games in the series and one of the greatest video games ever made because of its impactful story and multiplayer features. The multiplayer mode includes many game types and a system that lets players unlock more weapons, weapon parts, and camouflage designs as they progress.
A remastered version of the game, made by Raven Software and named Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, was included in special edition bundles of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in November 2016 and released separately in June 2017. A new version of the Modern Warfare game, called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, was released in October 2019.
Gameplay
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter game. A character can move in one of three positions: standing, kneeling, or lying flat on the ground (prone). Each position changes how fast the character moves, how accurately they can shoot, and how hidden they are. Using cover, like hiding behind objects, helps the player avoid enemy attacks or heal after taking damage. There are no armor or health power-ups in the game. When the character is hurt, the edges of the screen turn red, and the character’s heartbeat increases. If the character stays out of enemy fire, they can heal. If the character is near a grenade that is about to explode, a marker shows the grenade’s direction, helping the player run away or throw it back at the enemy.
This game is the first in the Call of Duty series to include modern weapons and equipment. It also introduces new multiplayer features, such as "killstreaks," where players earn special abilities for killing enemies without dying.
In the single-player campaign, the player controls different characters whose actions happen at the same time and overlap with the story. The player switches between characters during missions. Each mission has goals, and the heads-up display shows the direction and distance to each goal. Some goals require reaching a checkpoint, while others involve fighting enemies in a specific area, defending a location, or placing explosives on an enemy base. After completing the main story, a special mission called "Mile High Club" becomes available. This mission is not connected to the main story and follows a group of soldiers fighting terrorists who have taken over an airplane and kidnapped a VIP. The main campaign includes 30 collectible items that give players special abilities, like unlimited ammo or better visuals.
The game includes team-based and deathmatch multiplayer modes on different maps. Each mode has unique goals that require different strategies. Players can call in special help, like a drone scan, air strike, or helicopter, after achieving specific kill streaks (three, five, or seven enemies killed without dying). A game ends when a team or player reaches a set number of points, or when time runs out. If points are tied at the end, a "Sudden Death" round begins with no respawns. The team with the last player standing or who completes the goal first wins. If the match is tied in a regular game, an "Overtime" round is played, and the winning team is awarded victory.
In multiplayer, players earn experience points by killing enemies, completing challenges, finishing objectives, or winning rounds. As players gain experience, they level up, unlocking new weapons, abilities, and game modes. The highest level is 55, but on console versions, players can enter "Prestige" mode, which resets their level to one and removes all unlocked items. This can be done up to 10 times, with different symbols given each time.
As players level up, they can customize their character’s class by choosing a main weapon, a sidearm, and a special grenade. They can also pick three perks, one from each of three categories, to improve their abilities. Perks might include more ammo, stronger bullets, or dropping a grenade when killed. Players can also complete challenges, like killing enemies with a specific weapon or shooting down a helicopter, to earn more experience. When players achieve a certain number of headshots with a weapon (not including sidearms), they unlock special camouflage patterns for that weapon.
Plot
In 2011, a war begins in Russia between government supporters and extreme nationalists who want to bring back the glory of the Soviet Union. At the same time, Khaled Al-Asad, a leader who opposes Western countries, leads a group that takes control of a Middle Eastern nation through a sudden takeover, killing the president, Yasir Al-Fulani.
Sergeant "Soap" MacTavish joins the 22nd SAS Regiment and works with Captain Price and his assistant, "Gaz." The team completes two missions. First, they enter an Estonian ship in the Bering Strait and retrieve a nuclear device marked in Arabic. Before they can leave, enemy planes sink the ship, but the SAS escapes by helicopter. Next, the team is sent to rescue Nikolai, a Russian spy who is secretly working for the extreme nationalists and gave them information about the nuclear device. With help from Russian soldiers led by Sergeant Kamarov, Price's team saves Nikolai. However, their helicopter crashes, and they must travel through enemy territory with support from an AC-130 gunship before being rescued.
In response to the Middle Eastern takeover, the United States begins a large invasion. Sergeant Paul Jackson, part of the 1st Force Recon unit, fights in the initial attack with Staff Sergeant Griggs and Lieutenant Vasquez. The group fails to find Al-Asad in a coastal town and later fights in a nearby city using an M1 Abrams tank. Intelligence from the SAS suggests Al-Asad may have a Russian nuclear device, leading to an attack on the capital. While SEAL Team 6 disables the bomb in the presidential palace, Marines fight Al-Asad's forces. However, the nuclear device explodes unexpectedly, destroying the city and killing Jackson, Vasquez, and many soldiers.
Believing Al-Asad is still alive, Price's team, with help from Russian soldiers, raids a safe house in Azerbaijan and captures Al-Asad. During an interrogation, Price answers Al-Asad's phone before killing him, revealing the call was from Imran Zakhaev, a leader of the extreme nationalists and someone Price has fought before.
In 1996, after the Chernobyl disaster and the fall of the Soviet Union, Zakhaev used money from selling nuclear weapons to attract former Soviet soldiers to form his extreme nationalist group. Then-lieutenant Price and his leader, Captain MacMillan, were ordered to kill Zakhaev at a meeting in Ukraine. Price shot Zakhaev, but only injured his arm. Price and MacMillan barely escaped Zakhaev's forces.
In the present, Price's team fights extreme nationalists who attack to avenge Al-Asad's death before being rescued by Force Recon Marines led by Griggs. A group of SAS and Force Recon soldiers is formed to capture Zakhaev's son, Victor, to find his father. The group ambushes Victor at a checkpoint and corners him. Victor refuses to surrender and kills himself. Zakhaev then takes control of a nuclear launch site in the Altai Mountains.
The group launches a mission to reclaim the site, but Zakhaev launches missiles at the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. The group stops the missiles over the Atlantic Ocean and escapes, but an enemy helicopter destroys a bridge, trapping them. In the battle, Griggs is killed, and Zakhaev kills Gaz and other wounded soldiers when his helicopter is destroyed by loyalist forces. While Zakhaev is distracted, Price gives Soap a gun, and Soap kills Zakhaev and his guards. Loyalist forces then help the injured soldiers.
Development
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was created by a group of 100 people over two years. After Call of Duty 2, the Infinity Ward team decided to move away from the World War II setting used in earlier games in the series. This decision led to the creation of three games: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. While working on the story for Call of Duty 4, Infinity Ward chose not to reference real-life wars and instead focused on a common theme of two opposing forces with similar strength. To make the game feel more realistic, the development team visited a live-fire exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, a training facility in the California desert. This helped them simulate the effects of being near an Abrams tank when it fires. The team also spoke with U.S. Marines who had recently been in combat to understand their experiences and emotions. Veterans were hired to oversee motion capture sessions and the artificial intelligence design of the game.
The development team designed the online multiplayer component to be fair and rewarding for new players while still offering challenges for experienced players. An early idea for air support involved players fighting over special zones to access air strikes, but this was abandoned because it did not match the type of deathmatch gameplay they wanted. Instead, the killstreak reward system was introduced to encourage players to improve their skills. Players could choose weapons before matches to become familiar with them and avoid spending time searching for weapons during gameplay. Maps were designed primarily for deathmatch games, and the developers believed these designs worked well for other types of gameplay too. Map layouts were created to limit hiding spots and make it harder for players to avoid enemy gunfire.
Most of the music for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was written by British composer Stephen Barton, who had previously worked on film scores by Harry Gregson-Williams, who composed the game’s main theme. Some music tracks from the game are available on Infinity Ward’s "7 Days of Modern Warfare" website and on Barton’s personal website. The rap song played during the end credits was performed by Infinity Ward lead animator, Mark Grigsby.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare runs on the IW engine, specifically version IW 3.0, which includes features like true world-dynamic lighting, HDR lighting effects, dynamic shadows, and depth of field. The engine calculates bullet penetration based on factors such as the type of surface and the thickness of objects. The game runs at a native resolution of 600p on the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Certain objects, such as cars and some buildings, can be destroyed. This makes it important for players to distinguish between cover and concealment, as objects like wooden fences and thin walls do not fully protect players from harm. Bullet stopping power decreases after penetrating an object, and the amount of decrease depends on the object’s thickness and material. The game uses a dynamic physics engine, a feature not included in earlier Call of Duty titles. Death animations combine pre-set animations with ragdoll physics. Console versions of the game run at a consistent 60 frames per second, while the Wii version runs at 30 frames per second. Code was added to determine spawning points based on nearby weapons and the relationship between enemy positions and visibility to those points. These rules aim to reduce the chance of players dying immediately after rejoining a match or being "spawn-killed" by opponents waiting for them to respawn. However, enemies may still respawn infinitely, a feature common in Call of Duty game engines.
The game engine was also used to develop two other Activision games. An improved version of the original engine was used in Call of Duty: World at War, the fifth game in the Call of Duty series after Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. A slightly modified version of the engine was used for the James Bond video game Quantum of Solace, and a heavily modified version was used for GoldenEye 007.
Marketing and release
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s modern-day setting was first shared with Joystiq in March 2006. On April 27, 2007, the day before the game’s trailer was released, Infinity Ward created a website named "Charlie Oscar Delta" to share information about the game. The website includes a ranking system that lets users complete missions to improve their rank and earn prizes. The name "Charlie Oscar Delta" comes from the NATO phonetic alphabet and the letters C, O, D, and the initials of Call of Duty. The first trailer showing gameplay was released on April 28, 2007. A public beta test for the Xbox 360 version was announced on August 30, 2007. The beta test aimed to test the game’s servers, find errors, and help balance weapons. It was first available only to U.S. residents but later opened to other countries. The beta ended on September 30. The highest rank in the beta was initially level 16, but it was raised to level 25 near the end. Three multiplayer maps were available: "Crash," "Vacant," and "Overgrown." A single-player demo for the PC was released on October 11, 2007, through Yahoo! The demo includes one level called "The Bog," which shows the game’s advanced night vision and graphics.
The game was released in two versions: standard and collector’s edition. The collector’s edition includes the standard game, a DVD with a documentary titled "Great SAS Missions" that features historical footage of the SAS and interviews with former members, a "making-of" feature, and a level walkthrough by the developers. It also includes a limited edition poster and a hardcover art book with concept art, development sketches, and final designs. These items were packaged in a larger box than the standard version. The collector’s edition was first sold only in the U.S. but later became available in other countries. A "Game of the Year" edition was later released for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 version included the Variety map pack on the disc. The Xbox 360 version initially had a code for downloading the Variety map pack, but later releases did not include this code.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released for consoles and Windows in North America on November 5, 2007, in Australia on November 7, 2007, and in Europe on November 9, 2007. The Mac OS X version was developed by Aspyr and released on September 26, 2008. It was later available on the Mac App Store on January 16, 2011. The game received ratings: 15 by the BBFC, M for Mature by the ESRB, MA 15+ by the OFLC, 16+ by the PEGI, and 18 by the USK. A Wii version, titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Reflex Edition, was developed by Treyarch and released on November 10, 2009, alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized.
As part of a deal between Microsoft and Activision, multiplayer map packs for the Call of Duty series, starting with Modern Warfare, were released first on Xbox 360. This agreement lasted until Black Ops III in 2015, when a new deal with Sony and PlayStation platforms began.
Infinity Ward released the Variety Map Pack for Xbox 360 on April 4, 2008. It includes four multiplayer maps: "Killhouse," "Creek," "Chinatown," and "Broadcast." The same map pack was released for PlayStation 3 on April 24, 2008. Over one million people downloaded the map pack in its first nine days, setting a record for paid Xbox Live content valued at $10 million. The map pack was later released for free on Windows on June 5, 2008, sponsored by Nvidia, along with patch 1.6. A patch for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions was announced in August 2009 to fix online multiplayer issues. Patch 1.7 was released in June 2008. This patch can be applied directly to the Game of the Year edition without prior patches. Earlier versions require patch 1.6 first.
Reception
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare received "universal acclaim" on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions, and "generally favorable reviews" for the Wii version, according to Metacritic. Reviewers said the gameplay raised the genre to "a new level of immersion and intensity." GameSpot praised the game, calling its campaign and multiplayer options "a fantastic package." Official Xbox Magazine highlighted the single-player story and called the multiplayer mode an "instant-classic." X-Play said the game "may not revolutionize the shooter genre, but it comes close to perfecting it." GamePro compared its multiplayer depth to Halo 3.
The game’s story was widely praised. GamePro described the single-player campaign as "action-packed" with a "compelling narrative" that could "send chills down your spine." GameSpot noted the campaign was "over in a flash" as its only major flaw. IGN said the story was "very linear" like earlier games but called it "richer and more focused" with "beautifully scripted scenes." IGN’s Voodoo Extreme added that the game "plays on a rail" but called that "part of its charm."
Xbox World 360 criticized the game, saying it used "smoke and mirrors" and "cheap tricks." Pelit said the single-player structure "should have been updated" and criticized the lack of clear checkpoints.
The Wii version of the game had fewer features than other versions. It did not support split-screen multiplayer, and the graphics were less detailed. However, it allowed two players to work together in the campaign on one screen, with a second Wii remote giving the second player their own aiming crosshairs. The Wii version had a Metacritic score of 76%. IGN gave it a 7.0, saying the visuals and controls were less polished than other versions but praised customization and multiplayer. Official Nintendo Magazine scored it 80%, calling it "packed" with features but criticizing the visuals. GameTrailers gave it an 8.8, saying it kept the best parts of the original. Game Informer scored it 6.5, saying the graphics were poor and the Wii remote had too few buttons for the game’s controls. GameSpot gave it an 8.5, praising the online multiplayer and controls.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was predicted to sell more than Halo 3 in September 2007. It launched on three systems instead of one, and demand was so high that retailers could not meet pre-orders. The Xbox 360 version became the best-selling video game in the U.S. from November 2007 to January 2008. It sold 1.57 million units on the PlayStation 3 and 444,000 units on the Xbox 360 in November 2007. By January 2008, the Xbox 360 version had sold 331,000 units and the PlayStation 3 version had sold 140,000 units. The Xbox 360 version was the third best-selling game in the U.S. in 2007, behind Halo 3. By January 2008, the game had sold over 7 million copies worldwide. It sold 10 million units by June 2008 and 13 million by May 2009. By November 2013, it had sold 15.7 million copies.
The game won awards from many gaming sites and publications. GameSpot and GameTrailers gave it the Best Graphics award at E3 2007 and the Best PlayStation 3 Game of 2007. It was ranked third on GameSpot’s "Top 10 FPS Games Ever!" list. GamePro named it the Best Overall Game of 2007, and GameSpy called it Game of the Year. Game Critics named it "Best Action Game." It won awards for Best Sound Design, Best Shooter of 2007, and Best Military Game. From the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, it won "Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay," "Action Game of the Year," "Console Game of the Year," and "Overall Game of the Year." It also won Best Gameplay, Best Story and Character, and People’s Choice Game of the Year from the British Academy Video Games Awards. It received the Academy of Video Games Awards Game of the Year 2007 Award. In 2010, PlayStation Official Magazine readers ranked it the 7th greatest PlayStation title ever released.
Legacy
Modern Warfare led to two follow-up games: Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3. These games were released in 2009 and 2011, respectively. A remake of all three Modern Warfare games, created by Infinity Ward and named Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, was released in October 2019.
A remastered version of Modern Warfare, called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, was developed by Raven Software. This remaster was first included in special editions of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare when that game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It was later released as a standalone game for PlayStation 4 in June 2017 and for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One in July 2017. The game includes the original single-player campaign and an updated multiplayer mode similar to those in later Call of Duty games. Players can unlock new content in the multiplayer by completing challenges, crafting items, or purchasing in-game currency through microtransactions. The remaster includes improved textures, lighting, models, changes to the heads-up display, and remastered audio. It also supports PlayStation Network trophies and Xbox Live achievements, which were not available in the original game.
Reviewers have ranked Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as one of the best games in the franchise, if not the best. Critics have called it a classic, a game that changed gaming, and one of the greatest video games ever made. The game is praised for its campaign, characters, missions (especially "All Ghillied Up"), and for moving the series away from its World War II roots. ComicBook.com’s Cade Onder said the game contains "some of the most jawdropping moments in gaming" and is "an all-time classic." Dan Wenerowicz of Complex described it as the beginning of the "Golden Age" of Call of Duty.
The multiplayer mode of Modern Warfare is considered groundbreaking. It introduced features that became common in later Call of Duty games and other first-person shooters, such as XP leveling, the "Prestige" system (letting players restart from rank one), the create-a-class system, perks, killstreaks, and camo grinds. Digital Trends noted that the game’s competitive multiplayer focused more on individual performance than winning matches, with players tracking their kill-to-death ratios and customizing weapons. This helped Call of Duty become a leading series in gaming for the next decade. Some reviewers later said that later games in the series improved on the ideas introduced in Modern Warfare.