Modern Warfare 4 Takes Steam by Storm: The Best-Rated Call of Duty in 16 Years

It's not often that Call of Duty news on Steam comes with kind words attached, but this time it's the real deal. As reported by Vandal, citing data gathered by Insider Gaming, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has racked up 87.4% positive reviews on Valve's platform, from more than 2,000 user reviews. Even more striking, the game hasn't officially launched yet: release is set for October 23, and the people leaving reviews are players who've jumped into the campaign through early access.

Why does it matter? Because, according to Vandal, no entry in the series has been this well received on Steam since the original Call of Duty: Black Ops, released in 2010. That's 16 years of lukewarm or outright negative ratings on PC. Infinity Ward breaking that streak right after several entries the community tore apart is, at the very least, a sign that something has been done differently.

What You Need to Know

• 87.4% positive reviews on Steam from more than 2,000 user reviews.
• It's the best-rated Call of Duty on Steam since Black Ops (2010).
• The reviews are for the campaign, available in early access.
• The game's official launch is scheduled for October 23.
• Development is handled by Infinity Ward, the studio behind the Modern Warfare sub-series.

A Huge Leap Over Recent Entries

To put that number in perspective, you only need to look back. The figures Vandal compiled for the most recent entries make it clear that the PC community had grown pretty burned out on the franchise. None of the previous three even reached 50% positive reviews, which on Steam places them in Mostly Negative or Mixed territory.

The gap with Black Ops 7 is almost 49 percentage points. That's not an incremental improvement: it's a radical shift in perception. Still, it's worth reading the fine print. The sample is still small compared to the numbers a Call of Duty usually pulls at launch, and what's being reviewed right now is mainly the campaign experience, not multiplayer, which is historically where complaints about performance, matchmaking, cheaters and monetization pile up.

Who It Affects and What Could Change

The first to benefit is obviously Activision, which needed to win back the trust of PC players after several seasons of criticism. But it's also relevant news for the competitive scene and for creators: a launch with good organic buzz usually translates into more players jumping in during the first few days, more views on content and more activity in ranked. If the player base arrives motivated, the whole ecosystem feels it.

Our Take

Here at Underworld Lordz we're celebrating, but with the handbrake on. A campaign that wins people over is great news, and Infinity Ward does have a track record of telling powerful stories in this sub-series. However, for those of us who experience the game through a competitive lens, the campaign is just the appetizer. What decides whether a Call of Duty survives on PC is what happens from day one onward: servers, netcode, weapon balance, anti-cheat and how the season cadence is handled. That's exactly where previous entries crashed on Steam.

We also have to be honest about the context: anyone who pays for early access is usually a player already inclined to enjoy the game, so the bias is obvious. The real test will come when multiplayer and the bulk of the community arrive after October 23. If the score holds above 80% a few weeks from now, then we'll truly be talking about the series' resurrection on PC.

For content creators, our advice is clear: make the most of the window. Positive hype is rare in this franchise, and the first days of a well-received launch are gold for reach. That said, keep a critical tone and don't oversell it: the CoD audience has been let down too many times to buy into premature euphoria.

What Do You Think?

Do you think Modern Warfare 4 is truly Call of Duty's big comeback, or will the score drop as soon as multiplayer arrives? Are you going to play it competitively from day one? Let us know in the team chat or drop by our Discord to debate it: redemption or mirage?