Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

This article is about the fourth installment in the Call of Duty series. For the Nintendo DS version, see Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Nintendo DS). For the 2019 reboot, see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019 video game).

Not to be confused with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Developer	Infinity Ward
Publisher	Activision
Director	Jason West
Producer	Mark Rubin
Designers	Todd Alderman Steve Fukuda Mackey McCandlish Zied Rieke
Programmers	Richard Baker Robert Field Francesco Gigliotti Earl Hammon Jr
Artists	Richard Kriegler Chris Cherubini Joel Emslie Robert Gaines
Writer	Jesse Stern
Composer	Stephen Barton
Series	Call of Duty
Engine	IW 3.0
Platforms	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Mac OS X Wii
Release	November 5, 2007 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 NA: November 5, 2007 AU: November 7, 2007 EU: November 9, 2007 Mac OS X NA: September 26, 2008 PAL: January 28, 2011 Wii WW: November 10, 2009
Genre	First-person shooter
Modes	Single-player, multiplayer

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment in the Call of Duty series. The game breaks away from the World War II setting of previous entries and is instead set in modern times. Developed over two years, Modern Warfare was released in November 2007 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows. A Wii port, developed by Treyarch and subtitled Reflex Edition, was released in 2009. It was followed by two sequels that continue the storyline: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Modern Warfare 3 (2011).

The game was critically acclaimed, especially for its gameplay and storyline, winning numerous "Game of the Year" titles. It was the top-selling game worldwide in 2007, selling around seven million copies by January 2008 and almost sixteen million by November 2013. Retrospective reviewers consider it one of the best, if not the best, games in the series, and one of the greatest video games ever made for its influential campaign and multiplayer. The multiplayer portion of the game features numerous game modes and contains a leveling system that allows the player to unlock additional weapons, weapon attachments, and camouflage schemes as they advance.

A remastered version of the game, developed by Raven Software and titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, was released as part of special edition bundles of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in November 2016 and as a standalone game in June 2017. A reboot of the Modern Warfare game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, was released in October 2019, which also spawned three sequels; Modern Warfare II (2022), Modern Warfare III (2023), and Modern Warfare 4 (2026).

Gameplay

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter. The game uses a modern military arsenal, including flashbangs, night vision, and suppressed weapons. The player can stand, crouch, or go prone; movement and stance affect the weapon crosshair, with crouching and going prone improving accuracy. The game uses regenerating health: after the player takes damage, visual indicators warn them to seek cover, and health recovers if they avoid further enemy fire. The heads-up display shows information such as current objectives, ammunition, stance, nearby grenades, and the direction of incoming damage.

Campaign

The single-player campaign is played from multiple perspectives, including members of the British Special Air Service and the United States Marine Corps. Missions are objective-based; the HUD and compass direct the player toward goals such as reaching checkpoints, clearing enemy positions, defending locations, and planting explosives. Completing the campaign unlocks "Mile High Club", a standalone epilogue mission in which an SAS squad rescues a hostage from a hijacked aircraft. The campaign also contains 30 collectible pieces of enemy intel that unlock optional cheats and visual filters.

Multiplayer

A player captures a flag in the multiplayer mode "Domination".

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare includes free-for-all and team-based multiplayer modes on a set of maps, with objectives ranging from deathmatch to capturing control points or planting explosives. Players earn experience points for many match actions, including kills, capturing control points, and calling in support. Experience increases the player's rank and unlocks weapons, perks, custom-class options, and other multiplayer content.

The custom-class system lets players choose a primary weapon, sidearm, attachments, a special grenade, and three perks. Perks are organized into three groups and grant bonuses such as additional explosives, increased health, or abilities that activate on death. In console versions, reaching the level cap opens Prestige mode, which resets the player's rank and unlocks in exchange for a new insignia; this can be repeated up to ten times.

Multiplayer also includes killstreak rewards for defeating opponents without dying. A three-kill streak allows the player to call in a UAV reconnaissance scan, a five-kill streak an airstrike, and a seven-kill streak an attack helicopter.

Plot

The mission "All Ghillied Up" is set in the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine.

In 2011, civil war breaks out in Russia between the government and Ultranationalists who seek to restore the country's Soviet-era influence. At the same time, Khaled Al-Asad leads a coup in an unnamed Middle Eastern country and executes its president, Yasir Al-Fulani.

New SAS recruit Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish joins a team commanded by Captain Price and Gaz. The team raids a cargo ship in the Bering Strait and finds a nuclear device connected to Al-Asad before enemy aircraft sink the vessel. After escaping, the SAS rescues Nikolai, a Russian informant embedded with the Ultranationalists, with the aid of loyalist forces led by Sergeant Kamarov. Their helicopter is later shot down, but they survive with support from an AC-130 gunship.

The United States invades the Middle Eastern country to capture Al-Asad. Sergeant Paul Jackson, serving under Lieutenant Vasquez and Staff Sergeant Griggs, takes part in the assault, but U.S. forces fail to find Al-Asad. Intelligence indicates that a Russian nuclear device may be in the capital. As Marines attempt to withdraw from the city, the device detonates, killing Jackson, Vasquez, and much of the invasion force.

Price's team and the Russian loyalists track Al-Asad to a safe house in Azerbaijan. During the interrogation, Price answers Al-Asad's phone and recognizes the caller as Imran Zakhaev, the leader of the Russian Ultranationalists. Price executes Al-Asad and recounts his previous encounter with Zakhaev.

In 1996, after the Chernobyl disaster and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Zakhaev profits from nuclear proliferation and uses his wealth to build the Ultranationalist movement. Price, then a lieutenant, and Captain MacMillan are sent to assassinate him in Pripyat, Ukraine. Price shoots Zakhaev, severing his arm, but Zakhaev survives and Price and MacMillan escape.

In the present, Ultranationalist forces attack the safe house, but Price's team is rescued by Marines led by Griggs. The SAS, Marines, and Russian loyalists form a joint task force to capture Zakhaev's son, Victor, hoping to learn Zakhaev's location. When cornered, Victor kills himself. Zakhaev retaliates by seizing a nuclear launch facility in the Altai Mountains and launching intercontinental ballistic missiles toward the United States.

The task force retakes the facility and destroys the missiles over the Atlantic Ocean. During their escape, Zakhaev's forces destroy a bridge, trapping the survivors. Griggs is killed, and Zakhaev executes Gaz and other wounded soldiers. As loyalist helicopters attack Zakhaev's aircraft, Price slides a pistol to Soap, who kills Zakhaev and his escorts. Loyalist forces arrive and evacuate the survivors.

Development

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was developed by Infinity Ward over roughly two years by a team of about 100 people. After completing Call of Duty 2, the studio wanted to move away from the World War II setting of earlier entries. According to a postmortem by Infinity Ward designers Zied Rieke and Michael Boon, the team considered several directions before settling on a modern setting; the studio also began a separate prototype for a new intellectual property, but the parallel project competed with Call of Duty 4 for ideas and staff. In a later interview, Infinity Ward executives Vince Zampella and Jason West said Activision initially resisted the modern setting because it considered the move away from World War II risky.

The new setting affected the campaign's structure and storytelling. Studio head Grant Collier said the absence of Nazi antagonists required the team to make the game more story-driven and establish its villains through the missions themselves. He also said the modern setting allowed the campaign to move quickly between locations while keeping a recurring cast of characters. Infinity Ward avoided directly depicting then-current wars, instead creating a fictional contemporary conflict. To improve the game's sense of authenticity, the developers observed a live-fire exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consulted U.S. Marines with recent combat experience. Veterans also advised the team during motion capture and artificial intelligence development.

Design and technology

Infinity Ward built the game on its proprietary IW engine. The engine supported features including dynamic lighting, depth of field, complex animation, sound, artificial intelligence, and dynamic bullet penetration. The studio prioritized a 60 frames-per-second target, which influenced tradeoffs such as limiting the extent of destructible environments. Bullet penetration allowed shots to pass through some surfaces, making the distinction between cover and concealment important during play.

For the multiplayer component, Infinity Ward aimed to make online play accessible to new players while still rewarding experienced ones. The team originally experimented with air-support rewards that required players to fight over special trigger zones, but replaced the idea with the killstreak system because the earlier design discouraged the intended flow of deathmatch play. The developers also let players choose weapons before matches to reduce weapon hunting, and designed maps primarily around deathmatch layouts that could also support other modes.

Audio

The game's original score was written primarily by British composer Stephen Barton, while Harry Gregson-Williams wrote the main theme and oversaw much of the music. The score combined orchestral music with electronic elements, modern percussion, and ethnic instruments, with orchestral recording done in London at Abbey Road Studios. The rap song played during the end credits was performed by Infinity Ward lead animator Mark Grigsby.

Marketing and release

Infinity Ward used the promotional website CharlieOscarDelta.com to market Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare before release. A high-definition trailer was distributed through the site in April 2007 and later made available through Xbox Live Marketplace. An Xbox 360 multiplayer beta was held before release, and a Windows single-player demo containing the mission "The Bog" was released in October 2007.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in North America on November 5, 2007, in Australia on November 7, and in Europe on November 9. Activision also released a Limited Collector's Edition for Xbox 360 and Windows. The Xbox 360 version included a hardcover art book and a bonus DVD about the SAS and the game's development, while the Windows version included a digital copy of the official strategy guide. A Mac OS X version, ported by Aspyr, was released in 2008. A Wii port, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Reflex Edition, was developed by Treyarch and released on November 10, 2009, alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Downloadable content

The Variety Map Pack, developed by Infinity Ward, was released first for Xbox 360 as part of a timed-exclusivity arrangement between Microsoft and Activision for Call of Duty map packs. It added four multiplayer maps: "Broadcast", "Chinatown", "Creek", and "Killhouse". Activision said the pack surpassed one million paid downloads on Xbox Live Marketplace in its first nine days, setting a record for paid Xbox Live downloadable content; the company also announced that the pack would be released for PlayStation 3 on April 24, 2008. The Windows version was released as a free download in June 2008 through a sponsorship with Nvidia.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	(PC) 92/100 (PS3) 94/100 (Wii) 76/100 (X360) 94/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Eurogamer	9/10
Game Informer	10/10
GamePro	5/5
GameSpot	9/10
GameSpy	5/5
IGN	9.4/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	10/10
X-Play	5/5

Critical response

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare received "universal acclaim" for its Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions, and "generally favorable reviews" for its Wii version, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Critics praised the game's move from World War II to a contemporary military setting, its set-piece-driven campaign, production values, and multiplayer mode. GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann described the campaign as brief, but said its quality and the multiplayer made the game a strong overall package. IGN similarly praised the campaign's scripted sequences and multiplayer depth, while noting that the campaign remained linear. GamesRadar+ called the game finely crafted, but said it was not a major departure from earlier Call of Duty games.

Reviewers commonly singled out the multiplayer as one of the game's strongest elements. GamePro compared its depth and reach to Halo 3, while X-Play said the game came close to perfecting the shooter formula rather than reinventing it. Criticism focused mainly on the short length and linear structure of the single-player campaign.

Wii version

The Wii port, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Reflex Edition, received a lower but generally positive critical response. Reviewers said it preserved much of the original campaign and multiplayer, but criticized visual compromises and control issues. GameSpot gave the port 8.5/10, praising its campaign and online multiplayer while noting occasional aiming problems and weaker visuals. IGN gave it 7.0/10, saying that its customization options and multiplayer were strong but that its visuals and pointer controls were less polished than Call of Duty: World at War on Wii.

Sales

In the United States, the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was the best-selling software SKU of November 2007, selling 1.57 million copies, while the PlayStation 3 version sold 444,000 copies that month. Activision said in January 2008 that, based on data from The NPD Group, Chart-Track, and GfK, the game was the best-selling title worldwide by units for 2007 and had sold more than seven million copies since launch. In June 2008, Infinity Ward said the game had sold more than 10 million copies. By May 2009, Activision said sales had passed 13 million copies. By November 2013, the game had sold 15.7 million copies.

Accolades

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare received several year-end awards. At the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences gave the game Overall Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Action Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay. At the 5th British Academy Video Games Awards, it won Gameplay, Story and Character, and the publicly voted GAME Award of 2008. It also won Best Action Game at the Game Critics Awards and Ultimate Game of the Year at the 2008 Golden Joystick Awards.

Legacy

Retrospective writers have credited Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare with influencing the direction of contemporary first-person shooters. In 2016, Wired wrote that the game helped redefine what a contemporary first-person shooter could be and helped establish Call of Duty as an annual franchise. Later retrospective rankings by GameSpot and GamesRadar+ placed it at the top of the franchise, citing its campaign and its multiplayer progression systems, including killstreak rewards, experience-based unlocks, custom loadouts, and Prestige mode.

Related games

Modern Warfare was followed by two direct sequels: Modern Warfare 2, released in 2009, and Modern Warfare 3, released in 2011. The subseries was later reimagined with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, developed by Infinity Ward and released in 2019. The reboot continuity continued with Modern Warfare II in 2022 and Modern Warfare III in 2023.

Remaster

Main article: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

A remastered version of the game, titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, was developed by Raven Software. It was initially released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in 2016 as part of special editions of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. The remaster contains the original campaign and an updated multiplayer mode with enhanced visuals and audio. A standalone version was released for PlayStation 4 in June 2017 and for Windows and Xbox One in July 2017.

External links

• Official website
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare at IMDb