Modern Warfare 4 Has Made Call of Duty’s Biggest Problem Even Worse

Published Nov 5, 2026, 11:30 AM EST Ford James is a UK-based freelance games writer at Polygon. He also has bylines at industry-leading outlets including GamesRadar, Eurogamer, PC Gamer, and more. He mostly writes about FPS games such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Arc Raiders, but is also partial to a decent RPG, roguelike, or sports game. He's a huge Pokémon fan, thinks The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the best game of all time, and has a degree in Games Journalism & Public Relations. What happened to good ol' gun skill? Image: Infinity Ward/Activision Modern Warfare 4 has one of the best multiplayer experiences Call of Duty has seen for years. Compared to Black Ops, Modern Warfare's weapons have more oomph, the aesthetic is much more appealing, and movement feels much more fluid. That said, Modern Warfare 4 continues a longstanding problem with the Call of Duty series as a whole: players have access to too much intel. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) was the series at its absolute peak, even though it was considerably stripped back compared to what we have today. Everyone had the same three killstreaks available, the selection of game modes was much more limited, and every weapon could have just one attachment: a red dot sight, an ACOG scope, or a silencer — but it paved the way for every game that followed. Most importantly, players who put in the time to learn map layouts, sight lines, grenade spots, and practice recoil control saw their hard work pay off, because the skill ceiling was incredibly high. That carried forward into World at War and Modern Warfare 2, but as the series slowly introduced more customization and ways to play, the skill floor was raised, and the ceiling lowered. The most egregious and frustrating example is how much intel is available to players through various attachments, equipment, and killstreaks. In Modern Warfare 4, the following can be equipped on any loadout: UAV, Advanced UAV, Snapshot Grenade, Heartbeat Sensor, Portable Radar, Seeker Drone, Recon Drone, High Alert, Birdseye, and Tracker. That makes ten things players can use to either find out the location of enemy players, or assist in finding them in some way. Image: Infinity Ward/Activision via Polygon Some are more powerful than others, of course. The Heartbeat Sensor is too slow to warrant using in most respawn-based modes, and Tracker is very situational. But a few of them, especially the UAV, Snapshot Grenade, and Seeker Drone, are incredibly popular. That means the only way to avoid being penalized by the game giving other players free intel is to have a loadout that directly counters them. Ghost is a perk that makes you undetectable by UAVs, Portable Radars, and Heartbeat Sensors, while Cold-Blooded does the same for AI targeting systems, thermal optics, Recon Drones, Spotter Scopes, Snapshot Grenades, and High Alert. The SAM Airburst Turret field upgrade can automatically shoot down UAVs (as long as it has line-of-sight, which is tricky in urban maps), while the Trophy System can destroy incoming throwables. The DDOS temporarily disables nearby enemy electronics and sensors. The Counter UAV killstreak scrambles enemies' minimaps. All airborne killstreaks are also fairly weak to standard bullets, making them much easier to shoot down than in previous games. Free sign-up Get Polygon’s Wishlister newsletter A weekly cheat sheet to what you’ll eventually love to play. No buying, no commitment — just saving for later. Sign up free Free. Unsubscribe anytime. When every loadout must be full of counters, however, it doesn't allow for much flexibility or experimentation. I'd love to run with the Razor Wire Trap field upgrade to see just how effective it can be, but I'd be at a considerable disadvantage as I wouldn't be running any location-revealing equipment or the counters. The same goes for the Kill Chain perk, which would allow killstreak kills to contribute half-points toward my next streak, but then I wouldn't be able to use Ghost. Call of Duty was at its best when players had limited assistance and instead had to rely on their own knowledge and skill. The Barebones playlist has infrequently shown up in various games, most recently in Modern Warfare (2019), which restricts the killstreaks, perks, and equipment that can be used. But after a seven year absence, it's unlikely to return. Ranked play is an alternative since that uses the same rules as in the competitive esports scene, but in true Call of Duty fashion, it isn't in Modern Warfare 4 on launch, and we don't know when it's coming. For now, I'll just keep running my counters, and hope 2027's release dials back the quantity of intel-supplying options.