Modern Warfare 4 Steam pre-sales double Black Ops 7 but beta draws fan complaints
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is off to a roaring start on Steam, according to analytics reported by GameSpot. Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics says the game has already sold nearly 400,000 copies on Valve's platform, generating roughly $21 million in pre-order revenue. That's double the roughly 200,000 copies Black Ops 7 had pre-sold on Steam by its launch last year, and Modern Warfare 4 still has two months until its October release.
However, the game's recent open beta has drawn mixed reactions from players. According to Kotaku, some fans feel Infinity Ward's promised return to a grounded, stripped-back experience has gone too far. Complaints from the weekend test focused on unimpressive maps, weapons that kill too quickly, and problematic spawn points that can end matches before they begin.
Infinity Ward is already responding to the feedback. The studio has acknowledged the complaints about spawns and "time to kill" and promised adjustments, per a tweet highlighted by Kotaku. The beta only featured three of the twelve launch maps, so the full lineup remains to be seen.
Elliott also noted to GameSpot that Modern Warfare 4 could give a boost to current-gen console sales. As the first mainline Call of Duty since 2013 to skip the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, its launch alongside the current-gen-only Grand Theft Auto VI this fall might finally push holdouts to upgrade. The game launches on October 23.
