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Tthis was the time Call of Duty (CoD) is always in conflict. In 2009, Modern Warfare 2’s infamous “No Russian” campaign saw players (voluntarily) shoot screaming civilians at a Moscow airport. In 2022, the drone operation coincided with the US assassination of Iranian President Qassem Suleimani two years ago. The sequence was not always straightforward.
However, in recent years, the world’s most popular shooting game has become increasingly melodrama, following the challenges of an army larger than elite soldiers. For 2026’s Modern Warfare 2, however, shooter Activision and developer Infinity Ward are back in tabloid-baiting territory.
Swapping elite soldiers for everyone familiar, Modern Warfare 4 puts players in the battle fatigues of four young South Koreans on their first day of official duty. However, when a group of 18-25-year-olds enter a 7-Eleven during a routine patrol, South Korea suddenly finds itself at war, having been defeated by North Korea under the command of a (fictional) leader, and this large-scale attack threatens to become a world war. It’s surprisingly political, in a time when game publishers seem to be afraid of offending everyone.
“I think it’s part of the DNA of Modern Warfare, right? We can’t escape that we’re representing a (real) world and using a real environment,” says Infinity Ward co-studio head, Jack O’Hara. “Although we take creative license.”
The biggest shooter in 2025, EA’s Battlefield 6, did not hesitate to geopolitics, creating a fictional army called Pax Armata to stand as the villains of the story. These political considerations ensured that the game could be sold in markets that were previously portrayed as CoD’s villains, such as China, Russia and the Middle East. However, Modern Warfare, has taken a different approach. While its campaign will take players on a journey around the world – with stages in Paris, Russia, New York and Mumbai – the main story will be divided into North and South Korean adventures.
South Korean journalist Hyeonju Song believes that the escalation of the ongoing conflict will destabilize Korea. “Since the Korean War is an ongoing conflict, I believe that creating fiction based on it can cause pain to someone,” he says. “North and South Korea are still in war zones, separated families torn apart by war are still alive, and all South Korean men are required to serve in the military. The war continues to affect our lives in Korea.”
While Korean shows such as Netflix’s Crash Landing on You tell love stories that unfold in every episode, Korean TV and movies are careful not to show the current tensions between the two countries. “I suspect that such efforts are rare because adding ideas to this unresolved history is viewed with caution,” says Song. “Recently, there was a big controversy about a play that distorted history, which led to the actors and the director issuing an apology to the public. I believe that even if the play first became popular, disputes about history and the propriety of its story will arise. organizations.”
O’Hara tells me that Infinity Ward went to great pains to portray the region as respectfully as possible, especially since life in North Korea has been shrouded in secrecy for years. O’Hara said: “Our staff and our team try to get closer to the things that are coming out. “We talk to, counselors, people whose parents crossed the border, soldiers who have worked in the area, and people from the intelligence agencies who may also have information.
Changes aren’t just big changes. After the great success of Helldivers 2, Arc Raiders and MarathonModern Warfare 4 comes complete with Call of Duty’s take on the shooter – a route called the DMZ. In order to give attention, the story led by the brand, unlike the stories that are led by the competing players, the story of this type will take place after the campaign of Modern Warfare. This will also be the first entry in the series to skip PS4 and Xbox One, and only release on modern devices (including Nintendo Switch 2). “Consoles have been around for a long time, and the PS4 has been around for a long time,” says O’Hara. “But eventually you run out … and you spend more time developing new things than creating new things. So for us it’s important to cut back and go to the more advanced features that come with other platforms.”
Changes are coming to the main game modes of Modern Warfare 4, too – one trailer I’m shown sees the player climbing water pipes, sliding down rooftops and damaging the side of a building. The company’s technology used to determine the accuracy of hip-fired weapons has been completely overhauled, and O’Hara promises that shooting without looking down the gun will no longer be frustrating. The Hollywood campaign of CoD will also bring blood to the multiplayer matches, promises Infinity Ward: potted plants will explode, fire engines will shoot water and explosions that would have killed you can knock you down in a spectacular way.
In contrast Last year’s waror indeed the last few Call of Duty: Black Ops games (made by a different studio of Activision, Treyarch), you can’t say that Modern Warfare 4 is playing well. Both the potential for controversy and the changes to many of Call of Duty’s bread and butter shows a willingness to change – perhaps even an acceptance of change. This will be the first CoD game to be released since the tragic loss of Infinity Ward co-founder and Call of Duty co-creator Vince Zampella. who died in a car accident in December. “The legacy that (he) left behind is Call of Duty, and Medal of Honor … (it means) Jack and I are able to stand on the shoulders of giants,” says Infinity Ward studio head Mark Grigsby. “Continuing to bring Call of Duty to millions of people around the world is an honor.”
