Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 looks like the ultimate first-person shooter package.
It combines a cinematic single-player campaign with innovative multiplayer and, as detailed in the latest Xbox Games Showcase, a practically standalone extraction shooter called DMZ.
Long time fans will recognize this upcoming mode as an evolution of the DMZ Beta that launched with 2022's Modern Warfare 2. It once again has players dropping into a hostile map and duking it out in a battle for scarce resources against both rival squads and roaming non-player character (NPC) enemies, but has been significantly expanded this time around.
At a recent visit to developer Infinity Ward's Los Angeles office, I was told be the team told me that it was built using all of the learnings from the original beta and a careful eye on the evolution of the wider extraction shooter genre.
It takes place in a whole new map: the sprawling Hajin exclusion zone — a huge swathe of land that encompasses parts of South Korea, North Korea, and Russia. It's been evacuated following a deadly nuclear meltdown depicted in the campaign, with players dropping in as part of an off the books CIA operation to recover abandoned military tech.
Danger close
DMZ will offer three distinct ways to play. You can pursue story missions, tackle highly replayable dynamic operations, or drop in with freedom to roam and explore the map.
Each deployment is designed to feel as distinct as possible, with a variety of factors affecting how events will unfold. Enemies move dynamically throughout the map, moving cargo in deadly convoys that can pose a serious threat to players. You can expect encounters with tanks, helicopters, armored juggernauts, and even drone swarms.
Luckily, an all-out fight is always a choice. DMZ has been built with a stealth system that sounds surprisingly in-depth for a Call of Duty title. An on-screen detection meter alerts you when you're about to be seen and killing enemies quietly will help you evade detection.
Players that do go in guns blazing will have to deal with an almost Grand Theft Auto-style wanted system with a star level raises every time you get into a big fight, prompting waves of more advanced enemies to deploy and hunt you down potentially forcing you to extract early.
An advanced weather system is an important part of the experience too. Conditions can vary from sunny days with the odd spell of drizzly rain to lashing thunderstorms and even snow. The devs are even working on a system that should cause the weather conditions to worsen as a match progresses, reflecting the increased danger the long you stay deployed and helping create a real sense of urgency.
DMZ comes with its own progression systems to master, with each of your operators having their own trait tree to work through. You can choose different operators to specialize in, all with distinct roles — for example, creating a dedicated character for stealthy looting and another more geared towards open combat.
If you die in the field you lose your loot, but you are given at least the opportunity to recover your operator by spending money that you've managed to scavenge on sending in an evac team.
It's not just your operators that you're building out either. The entire DMZ experience is centred around a Forward Operating Base (FOB) that you can upgrade with looted swag. It sounds a lot like the upgradeable hideout in Escape from Tarkov, and is complete with a 3D printer that lets you craft gear and a stash for storing your most valuable swag.
Everything that I've seen of DMZ so far suggests that it's a mammoth enough to be considered almost a game in its own right, a sentiment very much shared by the development team.
"I think with the combination of the changes to Core MP [...] and then combining that with DMZ being a game within a game with its own dedicated progression and persistent inventory and upgrading and all of that, I think [Modern Warfare 4] is the biggest, and I think for us even the most impressive Call of Duty that we've ever had a chance to work on," studio multiplayer creative director Joe Cecot told me in an interview during my studio visit.
The mode will be available from day one when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23, 2026, for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
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