A 4/10 Campaign Killed Early Access. MW4 Brings It Back

When Modern Warfare 3 launched its campaign a week early in 2023, it was supposed to be a selling point. Instead, reviews landed like a grenade in Activision's lap. IGN gave it a 4/10. The broader critical reception was brutal. And then, quietly, campaign early access vanished from Call of Duty entirely. Neither Black Ops 6 nor Black Ops 7 offered it.

Now it's back. Activision confirmed via a blog post that Modern Warfare 4's campaign will be playable on October 16, a full week before the game's October 23 launch. Anyone who pre-orders or pre-purchases the Standard Digital Edition or Vault Edition on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam or Battle.net), or Nintendo Switch 2 gets access. Switch 2 pre-orders will open later this year.

Activision never publicly said MW3's reception killed the feature, but the timeline speaks for itself. You don't shelve a pre-order incentive for two straight years unless something went wrong, and a campaign so thin it scored a 4/10 from one of the biggest outlets in games media is a pretty clear candidate. Bringing it back now signals that Infinity Ward thinks this year's story can actually hold up to scrutiny. I hope they're right, because nothing would be worse for the feature's long-term future than another dud.

The MW4 campaign puts players in the boots of Private Park, a young South Korean soldier caught in a full-scale North Korean invasion. Captain Price returns too, operating as what Activision calls an "operator-turned-outlaw" on a revenge mission that spirals into something larger. Locations reportedly span the Korean Peninsula, New York, Paris, and Mumbai. It's a clear pivot away from Black Ops 7's futuristic setting, leaning back into the grounded, linear campaign structure that Modern Warfare built its reputation on.

Pre-ordering also grants early access to the MW4 beta, though Activision hasn't locked down beta dates yet. MW4 will not be a day-one Game Pass title, so there's no subscription shortcut this time around.